


4th and Long: Epilogue?

by toughchoices



Series: 4th and Long [2]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Epilogue, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2019-09-17 16:11:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 65,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16977801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toughchoices/pseuds/toughchoices
Summary: This was supposed to be an epilogue that became a lot longer so it's more like a sequel. It's mostly fluff of their lives throughout the years





	1. 2015

**Author's Note:**

> This starts in fall of 2015 which is the beginning of Alex's freshmen year and Tobin's sophomore year. Each chapter follows along this timeline. If anything doesn't make sense let me know and I'll explain it.

Tobin walks the roped line after the game, trying to get to the locker room as fast as possible. She’s unfortunately stopped by UNC’s PR man and pointed at a tall man in a suit with a microphone and a camera.

Tobin sighs but turns to the man. He introduces himself but Tobin immediately forgets his name. She looks around as she’s introduced, slapping hands with a teammate walking by, half listening until he asks a question. “What happened on the field goal you missed?”

“You just said it,” Tobin replies annoyed. “I missed.”

“Were you scared?”

“No. What kind of question is that? What would I be scared of?”

“You seemed to shrink away as the tackler was coming in.”

“That’s ridiculous. I didn’t line up properly and I lost my balance slightly while coming in.”

“Have you seen the replay?”

“Have you. I was fully focused on the ball. I didn’t even see him coming in.”

“Alright,” he replies unconvinced. Tobin turns as a few more teammates walk by. They slap her hand and one pulls her into a hug. “Dude, that was all me,” he says into her ear. “I whiffed the snap.”

Tobin shakes her head and slaps his back a few times. “It’s all good.” He slaps her butt a few times before walking away. “Sorry,” Tobin says as she turns back to the camera.

“Are you and Lamont Miller dating?” the man asks right away.

“What? Why would you…? He’s my teammate. I just...” Tobin shakes her head in disbelief.

“I’m just saying. You’re with over a hundred guys. Maybe not with him but you’ve probably been with some of them. Are you dating any of them? How many of them have asked you out? How does your boyfriend feel about your other teammates slapping your butt.”

Tobin stares at him for a moment, face blank. “Are you serious right now? Is this some sort of joke?” Tobin looks at him. “Have you ever asked a guy what his girlfriend think about other guys slapping their butts? No, because it’s a normal football thing. Why don’t you get your head out of your ass and learn how to talk to a person,” the PR guy starts to pull Tobin away but she forcefully pushes him off. “No let me finish.

“And do some fucking research because you’re the only one that seems to care about my teammates doing something they do to everyone else. Oh and when you do your fucking research you’ll realize I have a girlfriend you piece of shit.” Tobin lets herself be led away by a few teammates, calling back to him. “You should be fired. Don’t ever talk to me again. Stay the fuck away from me.”

She turns around and lets herself be guided into the locker room. “Thanks Switz,” she says, patting him on the stomach as he releases his hold from around her shoulders, still extremely angry. She heads to her curtained off locker and sits down in the chair. She puts her face in her hands, pads still on.

“Tobin,” her coach’s voice says from the other side of the curtain.

“I’m dressed,” Tobin replies.

The curtain parts and Tobin looks up. “Aaron just told me what happened. You know better. When we get back we’re gonna have to talk, the AD will probably be there too. There are gonna have to be consequences”

Tobin nods, waving him off. “I know, I just can’t deal with that right now. I need to cool off.”

He pats the top of her head. “You played good today, kid. We’ll talk later. Shower and get changed. We gotta go eat dinner.” Tobin nods, waiting for him to leave before slowly pulling her gear off.

Once on the bus with her headphones blocking out all the noise, she pulls her phone out to text Alex.

**My Queen: I fucked up. Not sure if you saw it yet or not. We’re going to dinner but I’ll call you when I’m in my room**

It takes a few minutes but Alex replies pretty quickly.

**Lex: I couldn’t get the game here but I was keeping up with the stats**

**Lex: It’s okay that you missed. You can’t make every single one but you make most of them and even then you can’t win every one**

**My Queen: Not that. I’ll explain later**

**Lex: What do you mean?**

**My Queen: It was after. I’ll call you after dinner**

~~~

Tobin walks to Alex’s dorm, waiting for her girlfriend to get out of class. She sits on a bench, headphones on, hood of her cut off sweatshirt up, and sunglasses blocking the strong North Carolina sun. Tobin closes her eyes, pissed at herself. She opens them when she feels a hand on her shoulder. After pulling her headphones off Alex asks “Why aren’t you in class?”

“I got suspended,” Tobin answers. “Can’t play or practice for two games. And I need to write an apology.”

“I’m sorry.”

“That guy was an ass hole.”

“I know. He was baiting you.”

“Yeah but you’ve seen all the shit I’ve been getting. It wasn’t that bad last year cause I went in like twice, but now... It’s like I can’t do anything right. Someone fucking overnighted me a box of tampons." Tobin leans back in her seat. "I just can’t fucking deal with this crap anymore. What’s the point of me being here? ”

“Tobs, it two games. You can’t let them get to you. There will be more like him. You just gotta ignore it, block it all out.”

“I’m trying. I normally do but I don’t know. That guy was an ass hat.”

“Yeah. You’ve mentioned that.” Alex leans over and kisses Tobin’s cheek. “You get the rest of the day to sulk but tomorrow you’re going to write your letter to your team or whoever it’s supposed to be to, do some homework, then you’re actually going to come to my game since you don’t have practice.”

“Can we go nap?” Tobin asks, just wanting to hold her girlfriend. Alex nods, takes Tobin’s hand, and pulls her to her feet.


	2. 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little Kelley cameo

Tobin looks up from her computer across the library table to Alex. She’s wearing Tobin’s high school football sweatshirt, something she had stolen long ago and never returned. She smiles as Alex chews on her pen while reading over something on her laptop then comparing it to her notebook. Alex eventually looks up and gives Tobin a small smile. “Work,” she says and points at Tobin’s forgotten book.

“I’m thinking,” Tobin replies.

“Well think in a different direction. You’re distracting me.”

“But I’m thinking about you.”

Alex rolls her eyes and sets her pen down. “What about?” Tobin stays silent for a few seconds and looks down at the picture she has on her computer. Alex wraps her knuckles on the table, getting Tobin’s attention back. “About what?”

“Where are you gonna live next year?”

Alex tilts her head slightly. “I don’t know. Why?”

Tobin turns the computer slowly so Alex can see the listing for the house Tobin had been looking at. “It’s a four bedroom so I was thinking Crystal, Allie, and Kea.”

“What abou- Oh.” Alex smiles and looks up from the screen to her girlfriend. “Is this your way of asking me to move in with you?”

Tobin shyly smiles. “Maybe.” 

Alex reaches over and pulls the computer closer. “Oh yeah. I think I’ve been here.”

“You have. We’ve been to a few parties there. A few football seniors live there now. The guy who owns the place asked them if they could try to find girls to live there next. They put a few too many holes in the walls goofing off.”

Alex smiles and looks up at Tobin. “Have you asked the girls yet?”

Tobin shakes her head. “I figured I should ask you first. We’d get the master which is pretty big then they could have the bedrooms upstairs.”

“I wanna see it first but yeah.” Alex pushes the computer back to Tobin. “Having our own bedroom would be nice.”

Tobin smirks and nods. “We could go tomorrow after weights to check it out.”

“Only if you finish your paper.” She points at the papers scattered around Tobin. Tobin nods and pulls her computer back.

~~~

Alex sits against the wall, computer plugged into the outlet next her as she watches UNC’s live football game against Cal on her computer screen. “It looks like they’re going for the field goal on fourth and two,” the voice says through her headphones. Alex watches the light blue jerseys jogging out. She easily spots Tobin as the kicker lines herself up for the kick.

“This is far for her. I’m surprised they aren’t punting.”

“Yeah. Sixty yards.”

“This will be a personal best if she makes it.”

“And the snap… it’s a trick play. Lateral ball to Heath. She’s looking for options but no one’s open. She’s running, running and she’s gonna- Oh ball comes out, helmet off. Flags are down. Whistles being blown.” Alex’s breath catches in her throat.

“That was Alonso who delivered the blow.” Multiple whistles incessantly blow in Alex’s ears wanting the camera to switch back to Tobin. “Heath is on her feet.”

“Young is yelling at Alonso right now. He’s in Alonso’s face. Young is livid.” Tobin’s face appears on screen, she seems dazed.

“They just lost their kicker for the game and Young knows that.” The replays start and Alex cringes as the Cal player’s shoulder lowers into Tobin’s helmet as she slides.

“She bends her head as she slides, helmet comes jarringly off.” 

“That’s definitely a penalty as she gives herself up and Alonso leaves that arm in there, coming in with the shoulder. That’s not okay. He knows she’s going down and at the end right there he leans it down. Alonso’s way too aggressive. When the kicker gives themself up like that you need to at least show restraint at the end their and I think that will probably end his night too...took a cheap shot.”

“Look at the almost look of shock in the eyes of Heath after the hit.”

“Well she’s gonna be in the concussion protocol now.” The video shows Tobin walking through the tunnel with one of the athletic trainers.

“No question. She’s already been taken inside as the fight grows on the field.”

“Yeah, officials and coaches are trying to break this up.” The video switches to the field.

“Oh and punches are being thrown now by Alonso and Young. We’re gonna see some ejections.”

Alex texts Kelley, knowing she’s sitting in the stands watching this unfold in person. 

**Alex: Do you know anything? They aren’t saying anything about her?**

Kelley responds immediately.

**Kel: No. She walked off the field on her own but that’s all I know**

**Kel: They just threw 3 guys out**

**Kel: If you can get me a way down I’ll go see her**

**Alex: I’ll try**

Alex immediately starts texting everyone she can think of, trying to get Kelley down to her girlfriend.

“Alex,” Anson calls to her.  She looks up. He points to the gate where the rest of her team is lining up to get their boarding passes scanned. She nods and holds up a finger. She gives Kelley’s number to a few people with an explanation then gathers her stuff and walks onto the plane, still trying to piece her plan together.   

~~~

Kelley smiles up at the security guard as she gets closer. He holds out his hand prepared to stop her. "Someone's coming to let me through," she states proudly. She leans against a cart and pulls out her phone to text Alex even though she's on a plane.

**Kel: I'm going back there right now. I'll text you what I find out**

A tall man around her age eventually comes over, wearing a gray UNC polo. He flashes his lanyard and waves Kelley through. He takes her into a treatment room. "She's just taking a shower," he tells her, "should be out in a few." Kelley nods and hops up on a table while he walks out into the adjoining locker room.

**Kel: Good sign. She's taking a shower so they aren't worried about her dying**

Kelley takes a bunch of boomerangs of her feet and surroundings as she sits bored, waiting for Tobin. 

Once Tobin come back in, dressed in her UNC travel gear and a towel around her neck. She gives Kelley a small smile. “Alex?” she asks softly.

Kelley nods. “She’s on her flight now but she saw the hit and was freaked.”

Tobin rolls onto the table next to Kelley, her limbs hanging off limply. “What are you doing here?”

“You mean the game?” 

“Mmhm.” Tobin bobs her head slightly, wincing.

“We had an early game and a few of my teammates are friends with people at Cal so we decided to come watch. It’s only like a 45 minute drive.” 

“Did you know it was UNC?”

Kelley shakes her head. “Not until this afternoon when we were driving down. I was telling Alex we were driving down to Cal cause that was like where she was maybe gonna go then she went all crazy cause you were playing and I was gonna see you play this season before she was.”

Tobin stares at Kelley blankly for a few seconds. “Okay.”

The two sit awkwardly in silence. Their friendship had never fully recovered since their fight senior year. It had only even partially recovered because of Alex but they didn't talk anymore outside of saying hi when Alex Facetimes Kelley, from their shared bedroom.

Kelley glances over at Tobin who now has the towel draped over her face to block out the bright lights of the room.

“Do you know what the score is?” Tobin asks.

“No sorry. You guys got a touchdown after you left so you were up but after that I came down here.”

“Thanks for coming,” Tobin says softly.

“It’s no problem.”

“When you talk to her later can you remind her I’m not supposed to use my phone so I’ll try to call her but no texting and stuff. She should remember from my last one but...”

“Yeah sure. Do you need anything else? I can call your mom or something.”

Tobin shakes her head then reaches up, holding it through the towel while groaning. “Ugh, no. I talked to her already.”

~~~

Alex waits impatiently for her girlfriend to get off the bus, getting her hopes up each time, only to be disappointed as one of her teammates climbs off instead. Finally, Tobin is the last one off the bus with large headphones and sunglasses on even though the sun had already set. Alex jogs over to her and wraps her in a hug.

“I’m okay, babe,” Tobin says in a tired voice. “Just want to get to bed.” Alex gives her a soft kiss on the cheek then lets her walk into the locker room to get her stuff. 

The athletic trainer walks over and gives Alex a list of instructions so she knows what to look for and do for Tobin’s concussion. They talk a little bit more until Tobin comes back out. When she gets to Alex she hands over her keys and the two walk towards Tobin’s car together.


	3. 2017

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's a long one for ya

Tobin sits in the stadium outside of Philadelphia. She looks at the play clock then over the field at the game in front of her. She claps her hands together a few times while Alex’s dad leans over.

“Are you sure you don’t want to just come home with us? I don’t feel comfortable with you driving all the way home this late.”

“That’ll add an extra two hours to my drive and I need to be back by eleven for class tomorrow.”

“Please be safe. Alex was okay with you watching the game on tv. She said she probably wasn’t going to go in.”

“Yeah but if she had and I wasn’t here...” Tobin glances down at the jersey she had been given upon arrival. ‘Also I want to try to get this signed.”

“I don’t think you need to be there for that.”

“It’s not the same.” Tobin looks down at the back of Alex’s head. Tobin had proudly watched Alex go through the warm up with her teammates before the game. Tobin had started to take pictures on her phone but then saw Pam’s professional camera out and dropped her phone to her lap to focus on the game.

A few minutes later the final whistle blows and the USA has won its first game of the SheBelieves Cup. Tobin stands to clap along with the Mike and Pam. Tobin nods with her head to the field. “I’m gonna try to get her attention.”  She then hops over the row of seats in front of her and moves down the stairs quickly. Tobin makes it to the guardrail in between two much younger fans and watches as Alex shakes hands with a few of the German players.

Tobin waits patiently, hoping Alex will come in her direction. Unfortunately, Alex walks to the opposite side of the field, not really sure where to go as an unknown player.

A tall, dirty blonde makes her way over towards Tobin’s section to start signing. Once she gets to Tobin she looks up when there is nothing held out in front of her face. She notices Tobin’s phone out and asks, “Did you want to take a picture?”

Tobin looks down slightly confused, then shakes her head. “Uh, sorry. I kinda just wanted to see Alex real quick.”

The woman turns around, searching the field. “You could try going over to the other side,” she offers, “but it looks like she’s about to head in.”

Tobin sighs and nods. “I can’t really wait for her to be done.” Tobin looks to where Alex is talking to a staff member as they walk towards the tunnel. “Actually do you think I could get a selfie so I have proof I was here? She’s never going to believe it.”

The woman shrugs, confused as Tobin quickly gets her phone ready and holds it out. They both smile towards the camera then her phone is handed back.

“Thanks,” Tobin smiles and pockets her phone. “See ya later.” The soccer player watches Tobin quickly slip through the crowd of fans and disappear before moving onto the next fan.

Tobin gives a quick hug to Pam and Mike, promising to see them Saturday, then quickly makes her way to her car. She gets in, groaning at the excessive traffic already leading out of the parking lot. She pulls her phone out and posts the picture to Instagram along with a few of the ones she had taken of Alex from far away. She tags Alex and the blonde, Sam Mewis, who she had to look up while walking, and adds the caption:

 **_tobinheath_ ** _Not the soccer player I was looking for but a great win for @ussocccer_wnt. Maybe come visit your number 1 fan next time @alexmorgan13 especially when I drive 6 hours to try and surprise you_

Tobin puts in the address for the house she shares with Alex and a few other soccer players and starts the long drive home.

~~~

Alex sits in the locker room, already showered and changed. She checks her phone for the first time since getting to the stadium and sees three messages from Tobin.

**My Queen: Good luck**

**My Queen: You look good in the red white and blue again. Brings back old memories**

**My Queen: Call me when you’re back at the hotel**

**Lex: Was I on tv a lot? I hope you got at least one picture**

She opens Instagram to see if Tobin had posted anything, expecting a still of the tv with her face on it. Her phone buzzes a few times with notifications from friends and teammates as she types in Tobin’s name but ignores them. As soon as her girlfriend’s profile loads, she scrunches her eyebrows together and taps on the latest post. She stares at the picture of Sam with Tobin, confused. She looks up to find the other soccer player and sees Sam changing at the other end of the room. Alex pushes herself to her feet and scans through the next few pictures of her and the her teammates from farther away, warming up during the game and half-time. She gets to Sam and quickly swipes back to the first image.

“What’s up Alex?” Sam asks as she pulls her shirt on. “Oh, you had a fan in the stands. She was kinda awkward but I think she had your jersey number and stuff.”

Alex holds the phone out, “Her?”

Sam nods, “She tagged you in it? She was kinda weird about asking for the selfie.”

Alex nods, “She’s kinda weird in general.”

“You know her?”

Alex laughs and nods again, still trying to piece together the situation. “Yeah. That’s my girlfriend.”

“Oh,” Sam smiles and thinks about the interaction. “Yeah, that conversation makes a lot more sense now. Are you going to see her tonight?”

Alex shakes her head, “Doubt it. She has a presentation tomorrow for class. I didn’t even know she was going to be here tonight. I told her not to come.” Alex groans and pouts while looking down at the photo. “I wish she had told me,” she says more to herself than anything.

Sam smiles. “She did say ‘see ya later,’ which I thought was weird but I don’t know. Maybe she’s coming to the next one. She said she wanted the picture as proof she was here.”

Alex laughs. “Well thank you for obliging her insanity.”

Sam reaches into her locker for her shoes. “Next time, tell her that if she introduces herself first it won’t come off so creepy. I was actually a little worried for a second you had a stalker or something. If you hadn’t left the field I was thinking about calling security.”

Alex smirks. “I mean she is kinda creepy and definitely could be classified as a stalker but she’s harmless.” She looks down at her phone.

“One that knows where you live, watches you sleep.”

“We live together so she better know where I live,” Alex replies, not looking up.

“How long have you guys been together?”

“Like four years, we met in high school. We broke up for a bit before she left for UNC but got back together before she graduated and left.” Alex looks around the room.

“Wow. That’s still a long time. Is she actually gonna come to any of the other games? I’d like to officially meet her.”

Alex smiles and nods, “Yeah. She’s supposed to come to the next one, but I guess now maybe not.”

Half an hour later, the team is on the bus on their way back to their hotel. “Alex,” Sam calls from the front of the bus. “She’s a football player?”

Alex pulls her headphones off and kneels on her seat. “What?”

Sam turns her phone showing a picture of Alex and Tobin standing next to each other and smiling, Tobin in full pads. “She plays football?”

Alex squints at the screen, not fully able to see the picture from so far away but nods, assuming it’s a picture of Tobin in her football gear. “Yeah.”

“Who plays football?” Rose asks.

“Alex’s girlfriend,” Sam responds, showing her the phone.

“Wait really?” Emily asks from the row in front of Alex.

“Yeah look at her Insta. There’s a ton of pictures,” Sam says.

Alex notices quite a few of her teammates turn their attention from the conversation to their phones.

“What’s her name?” Emily asks, waiting to type it in.

Alex spells out Tobin’s name. “It’s the first one.”

“Why is she verified?” Emily asks as she clicks on Tobin’s profile.

“Cause she has a shit ton of followers.”

“She has more than I do. But why-? Oh, she’s cute,” Emily smirks, seeing an image of the two of them that Tobin had posted for Valentine’s Day. Alex watches Emily like the picture then keep scrolling through. She stops on the picture of Tobin in her football gear from the bowl game a few months ago with her arm around Alex’s shoulder. She turns to look up at Alex. “I thought you were just saying soccer but like maybe she played in Europe or meant like she plays flag football or something. I wasn’t expecting like the pads and helmet and shit.”

Alex shakes her head, “Nope. She’s the kicker at UNC.”

Emily likes the picture and turns to Alex again. “I changed my mind, not cute.” She holds the picture up to Alex. “That’s a hot fucking chick right there.”

Alex smirks and nods. “I think so too.”

“She got any sisters?”

“Yeah,” Alex laughs, “but they’re both super straight.”

Emily sulks. “Damn.” She continues going through Tobin’s posts, liking them as she does. Alex gets a lot of notifications throughout the night from her new teammates as they follow her and go through her pictures. She sees a few start following Tobin too.

Once Alex has changed into old sweatpants and Tobin’s football sweatshirt, she grabs her keycard and phone and walks towards the door. She presses Tobin’s number and waits while it rings.

Tobin picks up on the second ring. “Hey superstar.”

“I really don’t like you right now,” Alex says while stepping into the hall, pulling the door closed behind her.

“What?” Alex can hear the joy falling from Tobin’s voice. “Why?”

“You didn’t tell me you were coming up. You drove all the way up here and I didn’t even get to see you.”

Tobin taps at her steering wheel. “I wanted to be there in case you went in. Your parents had the extra tickets and I didn’t want to tell you in case I didn’t make it. There was a ton of traffic,” she groans. “I got there right as they were doing the national anthems.”

“How long was the drive?”

“I stopped to get gas a few times but it was a little over eight hours. I sped most of the way.”

“You leave right after class?”

“Yeah but I finished my test like an hour early so I was able to leave earlier than expected which helped because then it wasn’t rush hour as I was going by Baltimore. There was still a ton of traffic around DC though which sucked.”

“I really wish I had known you were coming, babe. Even if it was just the possibility that you were coming.”

“Did Sam tell you she saw me?”

“Yeah, but only after I saw your post and asked her about it.” Alex sits down against the wall. “You should have told her you were my girlfriend or that I at least knew you. She was a little worried you were a stalker.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Tobin jokes. There’s silence for a second then Tobin more seriously asks, “Why don’t they already know who I am?”

“I don’t talk about you that much but they know I have a girlfriend. I have talked about you before, I just hadn’t shown them pictures.They know what you look like now though.”

“You been hiding me?”

“Yeah, so I can keep you all to myself.” Alex yawns. “They’re following you now on Instagram though so be prepared. I’m pretty sure Emily went all the way back to high school liking stuff of us.”

“I was wondering why my notifications were going crazy. I need to stop for gas soon so I was gonna check then.”

“Yeah, that was all them. Where are you? Almost back?”

Tobin chuckles. “Not even close. I’m somewhere in Maryland I think. That parking lot was horrible. Took forever to get out.”

“Wouldn’t know,” Alex grins, “we got a police escort.”

“No need to rub it in. I just drove like four hundred miles for you to blow me off.”

They talk for a little bit longer before Alex nearly falls asleep and tells Tobin goodnight after demanding a text when she arrives home.

~~~

Tobin pulls into her parent’s driveway, exhausted from the even longer return trip back up north within twenty four hours. Thankfully her parents had left the lights on for her. She climbs out of her car, and heads for the front door, leaving her suitcase for the morning. She crawls into bed, noticing the clock reads 2:07 am before she falls asleep.  

Ten hours later, she finally rolls out of the bed, stumbling towards her bathroom. An hour after waking up, she is dressed in dark jeans, a black Nike sweatshirt, and a UNC snapback.

“Tobin,” her mom calls just before she walks out the door, “you better put a jacket on. It is below freezing out.” Tobin grumbles but grabs her winter jacket from the closet.  She texts Alex quickly to tell her to call her when she gets out of her practice then starts the forty minute drive to the hotel the team is staying at.

Tobin accepts the call a little while later.

“Hey,” Tobin smiles.

“What’s up? Where were you this morning? I called you.”

“Sorry I slept in. I’m super tired from all the driving.”

“Reasonable. I miss you.”

“Well lucky for you my mom made you something to make it a little better.”

“What is it?” Alex asks excitedly.

“Should be there in like…,” Tobin glances at the directions on her phone, “twenty minutes.”

“Cool. We’re almost back. Is she bringing it to me?”

“No. She’s having it delivered.”

“Wanna give me a hint?”

“Nope, but I’m pretty sure you’ll like it.”

“Hmmf.”

“It’s freezing up here. I miss the weather down there. What’s the weather like?”

“Uh…I don’t know. I haven’t actually left bed yet.”

“Ba-abe…”

“Can you just wait in the lobby or something when you get back? Or I can call you when it arrives.”

“Yeah, I’ll wait in the lobby. How am I gonna know when it gets there?”

“You’ll know, trust me.”

“Okay,” Alex replies skeptically.

“Let me know if you like it.”

Eighteen minutes later Tobin pulls into the parking lot, driving past the entrance to the hotel towards the small parking lot. Tobin notices a group of people standing near the window. As she pulls into the spot she sees a flash of pink in her rearview mirror. She puts the car in park and looks in her side mirror, seeing Alex running towards her in a large, dark blue jacket and pink beanie, bounding over to her. A second later she reaches the Jeep door she rips it open and wraps her arms around her girlfriend. Tobin laughs and hugs her back.

“You’re here.”

“You like the surprise?”

“Yes,” Alex sighs, kissing her neck softly. After a quick make out session Alex pulls away. “Come on. It’s freezing out here.”

Tobin turns off the car and pulls the jacket on that her mom thankfully made her bring. Alex wraps her arms around Tobin’s center and they walk in together. Tobin sees the group from before of Alex’s teammates, all wearing the same coat, loitering in the lobby. The group looks over when the couple walks in with smiles. Alex releases one arm from around Tobin’s front and leads her over.

Alex introduces everyone while keeping one arm tight around Tobin’s back, happy to have her close after not seeing her for two whole weeks. “And you’ve apparently met Sam already,” Alex says as she completes the introduction.

Tobin smirks, “Yeah. Sorry. I’m kinda used to her teammates knowing me.”

“Well we know you now.”

“Yeah,” Tobin laughs, “Uh Emily, went back quite a few years in my Instagram that night.”

The group laughs.  “Not shocking,” Casey comments.

They head to the snack/game room where a few more players, including Emily, are lounging. Tobin easily fits in with the group of soccer players. Alex smiles as Tobin trades numbers with some of her teammates and listens to them ask her questions about football. Emily leans over while Tobin is distracted, “I was totally right.”

Alex turns confused, “About what?”

“She’s hot.”

Alex rolls her eyes, “Yeah, and mine.”

Emily leans back, holding her hands up in defense. “I know she’s yours. I wasn’t trying anything. Simply congratulating my teammate on scoring a dime. I’d jump into your arms if I wasn’t scared she’d tear me in two with her bare hands.”

Alex shakes her head and turns back to her girlfriend. She slides a little closer and puts one hand around her girlfriend’s bicep, enjoying the feel of the muscle against the fabric. The group’s conversation eventually switches to the two of them.

“So you guys started dating in high school?” Emily asks for confirmation, already knowing from her Instagram stalking that it’s true.

The two nod. “We met at the beginning of my junior year, her sophomore and started dating a few months later,” Tobin explains.

“Uh, not exactly,” Alex corrects. Tobin looks at her confused. “We knew each other before that.”

“Well like yeah I’d seen you around school or in the locker room and stuff but we’d never interacted.”

“Babe, we had gym together my freshman year for like a month until you switched your schedule. We played soccer together.”

Tobin tilts her head at Alex confused. “What? No we didn’t. Why don’t I remember you?”

Alex smiles, “It’s fine. I was a freshman and you had friends in the class. We never actually talked but we played on the same team a few times. I think we high fived once.”

Tobin looks at Alex, shocked and confused, “How have you never told me this?”

“How do you remember the high five?” Emily asks with a sly grin.

Alex ignores her teammate, looking at Tobin. “It never came up. You were kinda popular in your own way, your coach was the teacher. You and your teammates were like the stars of the class, and I was a shy freshmen.”

Before Tobin can say anything, Casey leans forward with a smirk, “So what was Alex really like in high school?”

“Besides stalking you,” Sam adds.

“Yeah,” Emily leans forward. “How nerdy was she?”

“Where do I start?” Tobin jokes.

“Hey,” Alex warns. “Be careful what you say. I know where you live.”

Tobin smiles at Alex and turns back to the group. “She was a lovely girl,” Tobin explains diplomatically while making a texting motion with her hands. The team laughs again and Alex slaps Tobin’s shoulder, seeing exactly what she’d done. “And she’s still just as fiery,” Tobin smirks, turning to Alex. Alex leans over and kisses Tobin quickly. “Let’s leave it at that,” Tobin softly adds, “for now.”

There’s a knock on the door and an older player walks in. “Almost time for dinner guys.” She then notices Tobin.

Alex stands up quickly. “Tobs this is Becky. Becky this is Tobin, my girlfriend.” Tobin stands and shakes the woman’s hand. The rest of the team says their goodbyes and files out, leaving Tobin in the empty room with Alex wrapped in her arms. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll be with both our parents and your sisters. Try staying out for a little bit and I’ll move to wherever you’re signing.”

“Can you really not stay for dinner tomorrow?” Alex asks, knowing the answer.

Tobin shakes her head sadly. “It’s midterms. You have a legit excuse for not being there. I don’t.”

“Okay but make sure you say goodbye this time. I’m still upset that you drove all the way up to Philly just to leave without me even getting to see you.”

Tobin nods, “Of course my love. I’ll be the one with your jersey under every article of clothing I own but I’ll try to get your attention some other way.”

“Good.” The two walk to the elevators, heading down to the banquet hall off of the lobby that is being used as the team dining room. Alex leads Tobin towards a couch outside the door then loops her arms around her girlfriend's neck. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Alex presses herself into Tobin, kissing her hard. They break apart a few seconds later when they hear whistling coming towards them. Tobin smirks proudly while Alex uncharacteristically blushes. She hushes the group that was with them a few minutes ago. Tobin gives most of them fist bumps as they walk by and promises to see them at the game the following day. The group walks into the room and Alex gives Tobin a soft kiss before following after them.

~~~

Tobin leans against the railing, again squeezed in between mostly young, screaming children, watching the few players that continue to brave the cold sign and take pictures. Emily gets to her first and smiles up at her as she signs something for the kid next to her. “We’re going out to dinner after, you wanna come?”

Tobin shakes her head, “I gotta drive back down tonight. I just wanna say bye before I leave.”

Emily glances down the line, checking to make sure Alex is still there. “If she leaves before she gets to you let me know and I’ll get her from the locker room,” Emily smirks, “even if she’s naked.”

Tobin shakes her head with a smirk. “She knows I’m waiting. I think we’ll be good.”

Emily nods and holds a hand up to Tobin. “Good to see you dude.”

Tobin slaps it and watches Emily continue to move down the line. Tobin has short but similar interactions with Sam, who insists they take another selfie for Tobin to post, Becky, Rose, and Casey. Alyssa walks by as well but Tobin’s not sure if the keeper knows who she is so she just lets her pass.

When Alex finally reaches Tobin, she smiles up at her. Tobin makes a fist, kisses her knuckles and holds it down to Alex, as has become their mini tradition since high school. Alex takes her hand and kisses the knuckles back quickly. “I’m proud of you. Can I get a picture?”

Alex nods and reaches her hand up for the phone. “Send this to me.” Alex unlocks Tobin’s phone, brings the camera up, and tilts the phone so she can get Tobin in the picture. Alex takes a few then hands the phone back up. “Please be careful driving. Pull over if you need to sleep.”

“My midterm is at noon. I’d like to make it to my bed before that.”

“I’ll call you when we get back to the hotel. Try to help keep you awake for part of it at least.”

“Thanks.” Tobin holds her hand out which Alex reaches up to grab. She squeezes it a few times then holds it against her cheek for a second before letting go. “I love you and I’m super proud.”

“Love you too,” Alex replies before moving on to the next fan.

Tobin hops over the rows of seats to where their families are still seated talking with another player’s family. She gives everyone a hug then jogs up the steps enroute to her car. While she sits, waiting, she decides to post the new pictures to Instagram.

 **_tobinheath_ ** _Another one with my new favorite @sammymewyy and the almighty @alexmorgan13 finally decided to grace me with her presence_

Before she’s even moved, her phone vibrates with a notification.

 **_emilysonnett_ ** _Why did Sam get a picture and not me? Why is she your favorite?_

Tobin rolls her eyes and types out a quick response.

 **_tobinheath_ ** _She asked. You didn’t. Maybe next time_

 **_emilysonnett_ ** _better be or I’m holding @alexmorgan13 hostage_

~~~

The horn honks again as Tobin runs out her front door towards her Jeep, “I said I needed a minute for fucks sake.”

“You were the one that begged us to come with you and then you make me wait.”

“I didn’t beg. I put in the group chat that I was going if anyone wanted to come. You begged me to drive you.”

“I don’t agree with your assessment,” Nathan disputes.

“How about this? You only want to come because I said I would also drive Lindsey and you wanted to spend all the time talking to but mostly just staring at her.”

“Okay, that might be true.”

“Yeah, no shit. You could have been in one of the vans.”

“It was too unlikely that I would have ended up in a different van than her.”

Tobin nods, “Of course,” and puts the car into drive. They pick up Lindsey and Jane from the freshmen’s dorm before starting the four hour drive.

The convoy of cars and vans arrive at the stadium together and make their way in just in time to see the end of the Germany England match. Tobin searches for Alex’s parents first, staying with them through the US warm ups before making her way to the second tier with her fellow Tar Heels.

Tobin rolls her eyes when she sees the signs their teammates made. Her favorite being a large ‘Baby on board!’ decal but with the word horse after baby and the dot of the exclamation point is a soccer ball. Tobin sits down in the middle of the mixed group and looks over at her two teammates sitting next to her who are each holding up a sign. ‘This isn’t football…’ and ‘...where are the pads?’

“Really guys?” she asks but turns her attention back down to the field as the starting whistle blows.

Even with the US going down early in the game and the rain soaking everyone, their group stays rowdy, making it onto the jumbotron a number of times. Ten minutes into the second half they see Alex start warming up with a few other teammates. Tobin leans forward, her knees bouncing in anticipation. She is so focused on Alex that she doesn’t see when France scores again. She groans as the US goes down even further, the score now 0-3.  She turns back to where Alex was but no longer sees the forward. Her eyes move along the sideline, looking for her girlfriend. She finally sees her standing in front of the US bench, pulling off her penny and extra layers.

“She’s going in,” Tobin says loudly, hitting everyone next to her blindly, her eyes staying focused on Alex who is getting directions from one of the coaches. “She’s going in.” Tobin watches the board go up and stands, cheering loudly as Lynn jogs off the field. She slaps Alex’s hands and gives her a hug before Alex sprints out. Their entire section continues cheering loudly, waving the signs arounds, clapping, and screaming as Alex gets into position for the game to restart.

Alex does well as the game progresses. She gets two shots off within her first five minutes, one hitting the crossbar and the other stopped by France’s diving keeper. In stoppage time, Alex receives the ball just beyond the centerline and turns upfield. She starts dribbling, easily getting past the lone defender and starts for the keeper. Once she’s inside the box the keeper rushes out. Alex kicks the ball through the keeper’s legs as she dives forward. Alex falls as the keeper takes out her legs, rolling and landing on her back.

The entire stadium jumps to their feet as the ball hits the far post and angles into goal. Alex doesn’t have time to sit up before her teammates pile on top of her for a quick celebration. Their entire section is on their feet, still cheering even as the teams resituate and the game resumes. Unfortunately the final whistle blows a minute later.

Tobin watches Alex walk around, shaking hands with the other team and getting congratulations from her own teammates on her first cap and goal. After the team meeting, the US players somberly walk around the field to thank their fans. Sam is next to Alex and points out her cheering sections. Alex can’t hold back her large smile and waves up at them, motioning them down.

They all walk down and after Alex gives an interview for her goal and winning woman of the match. Once she’s done, Alex starts to walk over, then as if rehearsed, the group raises their hands up. “TAR.”

Alex grins again and raises her hands up in response. “Heels,” she shouts back. They go back and forth a few times until Alex reaches them. Alex goes straight towards Tobin first. Tobin kisses her knuckles and reaches down. Alex kisses it quickly then smiles up at her. Tobin reaches the other arm down, giving the best hug she can from over a foot above her. “Babe, that was incredible.”

“We didn’t win though,” Alex replies.

“You did your best and you scored.”

One of the team photographers comes up behind Alex and they all squeeze in for a picture, Alex holding her hands up towards them. She talks to the group for another minute before moving on to interact with the fans.

Tobin gets a picture with Emily and Sam, promising to post both, before she makes her third trip back down to UNC in a week.

~~~

Tobin stands with her kicking foot next to the ball and slowly works her normally planted foot back and around. She steps back and does it again. Her foot never touches the ball but she increases her speed slightly, trying to make it feel more comfortable.

Alex walks out of the locker room, first heading for the parking lot until noticing her driver is on the field. She walks over getting more and more confused as she watches Tobin’s awkward movements.

“What are you doing?” she calls.

Tobin looks up as Alex approaches. “Just working on something Coach wants me to learn. It’s for onside and squib kicks.”

“What’s wrong with the normal kicking style?” Alex asks before giving Tobin a quick kiss.

Tobin leans down to start packing the gear back into her bag. “It’s a misdirection type thing. It’s just really hard to get it to feel comfortable, let alone natural.”

“So what, you’re just kicking it with your back leg?”

“Yeah but it’s weak.” Tobin stands up, leaving the tee in the grass. She demonstrates as she explains. “So I step up and kinda go past with my kicking foot then my other leg comes around and kicks it. I feel like I’m gonna kick my own leg out and fall.”

“Like Charlie Brown.” Alex smiles. “I might actually be able to help you with that one though. It’s similar to some soccer stuff, but later. I’m hungry.”

Tobin nods and puts her stuff away. “How was practice?”

Alex shrugs and takes Tobin’s hand as they walk to the car. “It was fine. How was your first day at camp?”

Tobin smiles. “It was great. There were two girls there.”

“That’s cool. They both want to be kickers?”

“Well duh.” Tobin rolls her eyes. “It’s obviously the best position.”

Alex pulls on Tobin’s hand, bringing her to a stop. “I thought your favorite position was against the shower wall.”

Tobin blushes and pulls Alex towards the car. “You better not start something you can’t finish,” Tobin says harshly.

“Babe, we have the house to ourselves for the next two months,” Alex pulls open the car door and they both throw their stuff in. “I plan to do you against every single one.”

“You mean both showers?”

Alex shakes her head, winking at Tobin. “Every wall.”

Tobin gulps, “That’s a… a lot of walls. We better get started.”

“Where should we start?” Tobin shrugs and walks around the car to her door.

Once they’re both in, Alex continues the conversation. “Living room’s always an easy pick cause of the couch but the stairs kinda intrigue me.”

Tobin bites her lip as she starts the car, nodding, “Mmhm.”

~~~

Tobin looks up into the stands, the sea of white and Carolina blue making it too hard to pick out her parents, Kelley, and Alex. She looks back to the field as the second half starts of her final game for UNC.

Over an hour later the special teams coach walks over to where she stands on the sidelines. “No matter what happens here we’re gonna need an onside kick and it’s gonna have to be quick. They’re trying to run out the clock on us.” He glances at the field quickly then holds up the clipboard to show her the play. “Put it as close to the edge as you can and hopefully they can pick it up on the run and get out. They know it’s coming. Your kick has to be perfect.”

Tobin nods and snaps her chin strap in place and looks out as her team pushes for a touchdown in the final minute. They’re down by nine. She claps her hands together as she watches them run in for a touchdown. She looks up at the sky then hops over the edge of the white line to get on the field. She jogs out and easily makes the extra point, bringing their score up to twenty four, only two below Purdue.

She slaps hands with some of her teammates as they switch out, getting ready for the kickoff. Tobin sets the ball up on the tee and takes the necessary steps back. She checks the play clock as she raises her right fist then hits her leg twice, indicating to her team she’s kicking it left towards their sideline.

“Someone please get to it,” she begs quietly as she runs in, cocking her right leg back. The ball floats awkwardly to the left and everyone on the field runs after it. It hits the turf and bounces right up into the arms of the other team. He takes off. “Shit,” Tobin grumbles, running for him. She’s almost there when she feels a crunch in her left foot and is plowed to the ground. She waits until the mass of black and gold is off of her then sits up. Somehow her team now has the ball and is charging down the field near the opposite sideline. Tobin pushes herself to her feet, ignoring the pain shooting up her leg. Just after he passes half field he gets tackled.

“Shit,” Tobin mutters again, realizing he’s still in bounds meaning the clock is still counting down. She looks to the other side of the field and starts to sprint off when she sees her coach holding his hands up and waving her and the rest of special teams to stay on. He pulls one guy off and sends in the long snapper, no time to do a full switch to offense or even to get in the right linemen. The clock is below ten seconds and they have no timeouts left. “Fuck,”  she mutters as she turns upfield and runs to where the play is being set up. The pain radiates with each step but she keeps moving. She looks for her nearest teammate as they all awkwardly line up. “Catch the ball, laces out,” she shouts, pointing at where he needs to be while she steps back quickly, no time to line it up perfectly.

As soon as he kneels she shouts, “Go,” over the deafening crowd, hoping they can hear her as the clock winds down from two to one. Thankfully the ball is snapped as she runs in. Time has run out but it doesn’t matter, her foot connects with the ball. Everyone on the field turns to watch it as it tumbles through the air. It takes three and a half seconds from when Tobin kicks it to the ball hitting into the net hanging behind the yellow posts. Tobin stops breathing as she watches the two officials running out from under the goal posts, arms raised up straight in the air. The whistle blows to end the game. UNC wins. She drops to her knees and is shortly knocked to the ground by a sea of Carolina blue. More of her teammates run out and add to the pile.

After a minute, she’s able to move again. Two of her teammates pick her up, bringing her to their shoulders. She looks around at the group celebrating than to the sideline a few yards away where the losing team watches on. Tobin pulls her helmet off and pats her teammates’ heads to tell them she wants to be put down. As soon as she puts weight on her foot again the pain comes back, even through all of her adrenaline. She looks down at it then around for one of the athletic trainers. Not seeing one she starts shaking hands with the other players, trying to not gloat while the rest of her teammates continue to congratulate her and also not trying to limp.

The Purdue coach finds her fairly quickly and congratulates her on the kick, their season, and her future. He pats her shoulder pads and tells her she’s his daughter’s favorite player. Tobin thanks him with a smile and turns, slightly limping back towards her side, unable to hide the discomfort. On her way, she gets a victory hat from someone but before she can make it much farther she is stopped for an interview. She’s given a headset and told to look into the camera.

“What are you feeling right now?” a male voice asks.

Tobin shakes her head with a goofy grin, “I don’t even know. This is insane. Being the one to make the last second kick...it’s just crazy. I thought I messed up our chance to win after the onside kick but then we somehow got the ball back. I didn’t even see that. Was it fumbled?”

“It was punched out then caught in midair.”

“A team win,” Tobin says. “We had runners being lineman and a cornerback as a holder I think. I’m really not sure who was out there with me. I just needed to make sure we got the kick in before time was up.”

“You barely lined yourself up.”

Tobin shrugs. “I didn’t have the time.”

“You’ve been telling everyone that you would announce your decision for the future following this game and the game is over, so… do you plan on entering the draft?”

Tobin shakes her head. “Not even gonna let me enjoy the win are you?”

The voice laughs in her headset. “Every college football fan knows your name. Same with most sports fans in general. You just kicked an incredible field goal after time ran out with almost no prep. I-”

“I wouldn’t call it no prep. I’ve been kicking for eight years. It’s my life.”

“Is that your answer?”

Tobin shakes her head again. “Take that to mean whatever you want it to be. I’ll announce my decision soon. Thanks.”

Tobin pulls the headset off and hands it back. Before she can take another step, blue Gatorade is poured over her head. She licks her lips as she wipes the liquid from her eyes. “Seriously,” she shouts as her teammates run off laughing. She turns, seeing a sophomore linebacker pulling on his bowl shirt over his pads and jersey. “Hey Cole.” He turns. “Have you seen Michelle?”

He shakes his head and holds out his hand towards her. “That was a great kick.” She slaps it, giving him a ‘bro hug’ before walking off as normally as she can. Another man followed by yet another camera jogs over to her and directs her towards the mini stage that is being set up.

“Tobin,” one of her co-captains calls out. He wraps her in a tight hug. “You’re a legend, my hero. I would kiss you if Alex wouldn’t kill me.”

“Take it easy Chazz. You wouldn’t kiss me because Stacy would kill you.”

He shakes his head and laughs, setting her down. “They would both want to kill me,” he agrees, “but Alex would get to me first.”

Tobin nods and joins in laughing with him, “Okay, you’re right.”

They joke around for a few more minutes as the rest of their teammates are pushed around the stage as well. Finally a voice announces the presentation of awards. “The two MVPs of today’s game are... University of North Carolina quarterback, Chazz Surratt, and University of North Carolina, kicker, Tobin Heath.” They step on stage together to receive their awards and have pictures taken. Then the trophy is presented.

After celebrating some more and getting roped into three more interviews she walks towards the large section of UNC fans. It is still mostly packed with drunk college students celebrating but she knows her parents are in there somewhere. She looks up at the stands again, trying to find a familiar face. Her name starts being chanted, getting louder as she gets closer. She catches a glimpse of her mom trying to push through to the bottom. Tobin walks over with a smile, waiting for her to reach the guardrail. She slaps hands with a few fans.

Her mom finally pushes through, tears streaming down her face. “I’m so proud of you, honey. That was amazing.”

Tobin smiles, sets her trophy down, and reaches her hand up for her mom to hold. “Thanks mom.” She pulls her hat off her head with her other hand and holds it up to her. “This is because of you.”

The woman shakes her head. “That’s all you. I wanted you to quit the day I saw all the pads you had to wear.” Tobin takes a deep breath and returns the hat to her head.

Alex finally pushes through next, her eyes red and cheeks tear stained. She sees Tobin and starts crying again. Cindy wraps her in a hug and Tobin reaches for Alex with her released hand. Alex takes it and squeezes. “You’re so amazing.”

“Well someone had to win something this year,” Tobin jokes, causing Alex to glare and stop crying, momentarily.

“Don’t be rude when I’m trying to not hop the railing cause I will hop down there just to kick your ass.”

Tobin laughs, “I’ll see you guys later. We might need to change the dinner reservation though.”

“You want to celebrate with your friends?” Cindy asks.

“Something like that?” Tobin nods.

“We can do dinner without you but I want to be able to give you a hug tonight okay? Then you can do whatever you want.”

“I’ll text you guys in a little bit when I figure out what’s going on.” She quickly kisses her knuckles and holds it up to Alex who does the same. Alex reaches down and bumps fists with Tobin.

Tobin does her best to walk towards the tunnel without limping. She sees one of the AT students  and calls him over. “Have you seen Michelle?”

“I think she’s in the treatment room.”

Tobin smiles and places her hand on his shoulder. “Walk me there?” she asks.

He nods and puts his arm around her. “You want to tell me what’s wrong?”

Tobin shakes her head. “I’m good. It’s just my foot. I know that she’s about to be very mad at me though and if you’re there it might not be so bad. Also, this way it looks like I’m trying not to injure myself more.”

They get to the open door and walk in. He leads Tobin to a table. “Let me at least look so I know what we’re dealing with.”

“That sounds good,” Tobin nods, looking down at her foot, her breathing getting a little heavier. “Think you can cut the shoe off.”

He looks up at her from the stool. “Take your pads off,” he instructs while standing. “Michelle,” he calls over to the head AT, “Gonna probably need you over here when you have a second.” He grabs a pair of shears and sits back down. He undoes Tobin’s other cleat, first and pulls it off along with the sock.

Tobin drops her pads and jersey to the floor. He carefully tries to undo her laces but she stops him. “Just cut the laces.” He looks up at her for a second but then does as instructed. Tobin sighs at the relief of pressure but then grimaces as the pain increases. “Get it off,” she demands.

“Are you sure you want me to cut it?” Tobin nods. “Alright where does it hurt exactly?” Tobin points to the top of her foot. He nods and cuts along the edge, starting at her ankle. Tobin starts huffing out breaths, trying to control the pain. “Michelle,” he calls out again. “Now is better.”

“Alright, I’m coming.” The older woman walks over. “What’s up?”

“I got stepped on, felt a crunch,” Tobin explains.

“Did you hear anything?”

Tobin shakes her head, “It was so loud.”

“When did this happen?”

“The last kick off. Pain’s been getting worse. The adrenaline or something is wearing off.”

“Cut the sock too,” the older woman instructs, watching closely. She turns her glare to Tobin for a second. “And you’ve been walking on it for thirty minutes. Why didn’t you come find me?”

Tobin shrugs, “I kept getting pulled away.”

She groans once Tobin’s foot is exposed, the top already puffy. Michelle looks down at her student. “Do the eval. I want you to tell me where the fractures are and we’re going to compare that to her x-rays. Be gentle though. You don’t want to move the bones anymore then they already are.”

“Do I need the x-ray? Can’t you just give me crutches and pop it back into place or whatever?” Tobin asks.

“No,” she shakes her head. “I’m gonna go find the medics.”

Tobin groans and lays back while her good foot is examined. After a minute she hears a sigh. “I’m gonna be gentle,” he explains, “but this might hurt a little.”

Tobin nods. “Go for it.” She takes a deep breath, lays back, and grips the edge of the table while biting her lip. Tobin makes it through with only a few squeaks when Michelle comes back with two paramedics and a stretcher.

“Can I at least shower first?” The look she gets in response tells her her answer. “What about my bag? I’d like my phone and my wallet has my insurance card in it.”

“I’ll get it for you and meet you in the ambulance.”

Ten minutes later, the stretcher is loaded into the back of the ambulance. She sees the lights go on through the frosted windows and they start driving through the stadium. She looks down at her bruised and mangled foot, propped up on a pillow and splinted. Her eyes then keep moving to her MVP trophy that her teammates had made sure got buckled in with her.

They arrive at the hospital not long after thanks to the sirens and Tobin is wheeled into the emergency room, Michelle following with Tobin’s bag. “Can I have my phone now?”

“Let’s get you checked in first.” Michelle puts the bag on Tobin’s lap. “Grab your license and insurance card.” Tobin starts digging for her wallet, handing over the stuff she needs. While Michelle is distracted and the paramedics get her checked in, Tobin pulls out her phone. She ignores the hundred messages and opens her family group chat.

**Tobin: Def not going to make the reservation. Not sure if I can eat but I could use some company. What about take out?**

Her brother responds after a few seconds

**Jeffrey: Mom says she thought you were going out with your team**

Tobin smirks, wanting to see how far she can take this.

**Tobin: I am out but not with the team**

**Mama: Do you want to come to our hotel or we can come to yours?**

**Tobin: Not gonna be able to get to either hotel for a while. I could use some company though**

**Mama: They’re not going to allow us back in the stadium. We can wait and drive you back.**

**Tobin: I’ll get a ride back to my hotel with Michelle if you guys don’t want to come see me**

**Mama: Of course we want to see you. Who’s Michelle?**

**Mama: TOBIN HEATH WHERE ARE YOU?**

She gets in individual text from her brother.

**Jeffrey: Mom is pissed.**

**Jeffrey: Alex told her who Michelle is. Are you injured?**

Tobin rolls her eyes, knowing the jig is up thanks to Alex’s big mouth. She moves back to the group chat.

**Tobin: So don’t be too mad but I’m actually at the hospital to get xrays of my foot**

Michelle turns around and helps Tobin put on her medical bracelet. They then wheel her around the nurses station to an empty two-bed room. They transfer her to the new bed and the paramedics leave. A doctor comes in right after them, pulling the curtain closed. He introduces himself then begins to look at her foot, gently feeling it.

“It definitely feels broken but we’re gonna get some x-rays to know just what we’re dealing with.”

Michelle stands, “Can I talk with you for a moment?” He nods and they step out of the room.

**Mama: Oh. I’m not mad. I’m furious**

**Mama: What hospital are you at?**

**Mama: Tobin where are you?**

**Tobin: They were putting me in a room. I have no idea where I am and the GPS isn’t going through the walls or something**

**Tobin: Found it on the bracelet. It’s St. Marys**

**Tobin: The doc said it feels broken. I could have told him that. I should be a doctor**

**Katie: You should stop digging yourself into a deeper hole**

**Perry: Mom is sweet talking a cop to get us out of this traffic. You better hope he’s not a Purdue fan**

**Perry: OMG it worked. No police escort but at least we don’t have to sit in this traffic**

Tobin smiles and leans back, closing her eyes. Her phone continues to vibrate against her chest and she doesn’t need to look at it to know it more congratulatory texts. “Okay, Tobin,” Michelle’s voice brings her out of her happy daze. “They’re gonna get your x-rays but any surgery is going to be done back at school.”

“Surgery?”

“Yes. If you need it, we would have to wait a few days anyway, for the swelling to go down. I want Dr. Harrow to do it. I’m having the x-rays sent to him.”

“What does this mean? What about the Senior Bowl? I want to get drafted. I need to be at the Combine... and pro day”

She smiles sadly. “I know. Those are both two months away or more. We need to take this one day at a time. Your bones could be healed within a little over a month. We’re not going to know until we get the x-ray.” Tobin groans as a wheelchair is rolled in to take her away.

She is wheeled back in almost an hour later, the room now full of Heaths, a Morgan, and an O’Hara. Her mom stands quickly and rushes to her side. She starts asking a million questions, but Tobin just waves her off. “Just wait for the doctor. I don’t know anything definitive.”

She stands up on her good foot and hobbles over to the bed where Alex is sitting with Kelley, holding Tobin’s trophy between them. Kelley moves but Alex stays planted. Tobin smiles at her as she hops up onto the bed, keeping the weight off her bad foot. She leans in for a kiss but Alex pulls back. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know it was this bad when I saw you. I thought it was minor.”

Alex puts her chin on Tobin’s shoulder so she could whisper easier. “But then you were on your way and you didn’t call me or answer my texts.”

“Alex,” Tobin sighs, “I think every person I’ve ever met texted me today. My phone’s going crazy. I knew you were with my family so I figured you would know what was going on through them.”

“But you didn’t even tell them right away.”

“Babe, I’m sorry. This has been a crazy day in case you haven’t noticed.” Alex pushes the trophy into Tobin’s side and rolls off the bed, heading for the door. “Alex?” Alex keeps walking. “Alex,” she calls louder. Everyone else in the room looks between the two as Alex disappears around the corner.

“What happened?” Kelley asks moving closer.

“I have no idea.” She looks around the room. “Can I get some crutches or something?”

“The doctor should be here soon, Tobin. You need to rest.” Michelle glares at her. “I want you off your feet as much as possible until we see Dr. Harrow. I want you a wheelchair until you see him.”

“What? Why?”

“No pressure on the foot. Any could cause more bone movement and more damage. You want to get better, you need to listen to me.”

Tobin groans but nods. The doctor walks back in. He pulls a tablet out and sits next to Tobin. “Your third and fourth metatarsals are fractured.” He shows her the x-ray. “They luckily look clean. There are two fractures on your fourth but one is microscopic. On it’s own I would probably put you in a boot for a week. I’m a little worried about the one on your third though. Since you kept playing and walking around on it, it seems to have shifted slightly. It’s an easy fix on a clean break, minor surgery. I spoke with your team doctor and we came up with a game plan for the coming days. We do need to set it now though.” He points to the screen at one of the displaced bones.

The doctor goes on to explain the injury and the perceived diagnosis. Once he’s finished, Tobin asks the only question she wants an answer to. “How long until I can play again?”

“Barring any complications I would say twelve weeks is your best bet.”

“Twelve weeks,” Tobin repeats softly, doing the math.

“Yes but that’s not a definitive answer. You’re young, athletic, overall you’re very healthy. It could be less.” They keep talking, Tobin trying to figure out everything she needs to do to speed up the healing process.

Once he leaves to get the anesthetic and nurses to help, Tobin looks around, Alex still not in the room. She turns to Kelley with worry in her eyes. “Can you go find her?” she asks. Kelley nods and walks to the door. She steps out and turns in the direction Alex was going and stops when she sees her friend seated on the floor just outside the door. She steps around her and sits down, noticing her cheeks are wet.

“What’s up?” Kelley asks.

Alex leans her head against Kelley’s shoulder. “Is it bad that I’m almost happy she got injured?”

“Um, yeah extremely,” Kelley replies, giving Alex a strange look.

“It’s not that I want her hurt but maybe the coaches won’t get to see her now and she won’t get drafted.”

“So you want her dream of getting into the NFL to be crushed too?” Kelley asks.

“No,” Alex wraps her arms around Kelley’s bicep. “I want her to be safe. The guys just keep getting bigger, and stronger, and faster, and I’m scared she’s going to get seriously hurt.”

“Al, she doesn’t get hit that often.”

“She’s been hit six times this season, three the year before, and four her sophomore year.”

“The fact that you remember those numbers is a little eery.”

“It’s the amount of times my heart has stopped. I’m rarely at her games because they’re away, I’m away, or they’re at the same time. If she gets drafted I’ll never be there. She’ll probably end up in Seattle because of course she would end up on the opposite side of the country. If there is a team in Alaska she’d get drafted there.” Alex eyes refill with tears.

“You don’t know that. She could end up playing for Carolina or one of the other, closer teams.

Alex shakes her head. “Knowing my luck she’ll be far away.”

“Your luck? Is this the luck that got you on the National team, the luck that got you two national championships, or the luck that let you to find your forever in high school?”

Alex shakes her head and ignores Kelley’s comment. “She didn’t even tell me she was hurt when I was right in front of her.” Alex looks around. “We’re in the hospital for fucks sake, she has three fractures, and she couldn’t even text me to tell me herself.”

“You were with her family. She knew you would find out through them.”

“What about next time she ends up here? How am I going to get to her? I’ll be hundreds or thousands of miles away.”

“Maybe you’ll get drafted to the same city,” Kelley tries.

“And what if there isn’t a team there?”

“Stop thinking of all the negatives.”

“But there are so many.”

“Alex I don’t mean to be blunt...wait no I do… insensitive, yeah that’s better. Okay. I don’t mean to be insensitive but your girlfriend just won a bowl game on a broken foot with no time left. She got an MVP trophy for kicking the ball over half the field. She’s a girl playing football and right now her chance to go pro is getting smaller because of the timing for a minor injury.” They watch the doctor walk back into Tobin’s room with two nurses. “She wants you in there with her. You know she’s in pain. I know you’re scared but don’t you think that maybe she’s scared too. She needs to get surgery for fucks sake and you’re out here crying of what… happiness?”

Alex wipes her cheeks and frowns. She releases Kelley’s arm to wrap herself fully around her friend. “Thanks Kel,” she says softly before standing up and walking back into the room. She sees the nurses putting restraints around Tobin’s ankles. “What’s go on?”

Tobin looks up with a relieved smile, thankful her girlfriend is back. “I told them, they should put these on just in case I kick out as a reflex. They don’t think it’s necessary but I kinda just want the picture.” She points to her brother who has his phone out and pointed at them. Tobin smiles and holds a thumbs up.  Alex walks over with a smile, wiping her eyes again. Tobin pats the bed next to her and Alex half sits, turned towards her girlfriend’s face so she doesn’t have to see her foot, the bruise, or the misaligned bone. “Are you okay?” Tobin asks softly.

Alex shrugs, “I’m not the one with the broken bones.” She takes Tobin’s hand in her own and brings it up to her lips so she can press a kiss against the knuckles.

Tobin looks down at her foot than back at Alex. “Why’d you run off?”

Before Alex can say anything, the doctor interrupts. “Okay Tobin,” he says. “This should numb everything up a bit. You’re just going to feel a slight burning as it goes in.”

Tobin nods and turns towards her brother. “Jeff, get a picture of this too.”

“Tobin,” her mother chastises.

Tobin grins about to say something but then grits her teeth and squeezes Alex’s hand harder. Alex watches Tobin’s face while the kicker looks down and watches the needle come out.

“Okay, we’ll give that a minute to set in.”

Tobin nods, “It feels better already.”

“Good. Now I know you wanted the restraints as more of a joke but please do not kick my nurses. They need to stabilize your leg and foot and I’ve heard you’re a pretty good kicker.”

Alex can’t bear to watch as they fix Tobin’s foot. She instead watches Tobin’s face as the pain passes the threshold of the medicine causing her to squeeze her eyes closed. Once her bones are in place, she’s fitted for a soft cast, given follow up instructions, a prescription, and everything else she needs to know. Her family starts getting ready to leave, trying to find somewhere to eat.

“Michelle,” Tobin calls over as they are about to part ways. “I know we’re not supposed to have people in our rooms but do you think it would be okay if Alex stayed over. I still need to shower and it will be easier to have someone there since I can’t put any weight on my foot.”

“First off, take a bath, not a shower.” Tobin nods. “I’ll clear it with coach for you but our flight is still tomorrow. We’re leaving at eight. No funny business.”

Tobin nods again with a huge smile. “Thank you.”

~~~

Alex pushes Tobin through the hotel doorway then to the bathroom door. The wheelchair doesn’t fit through so Aex steps around and starts the bath while Tobin watches. Alex then moves to Tobin, locking the wheels like she was shown then helping Tobin up and to the counter. Alex works on untying Tobin’s football pants.

“Are you going to join me?” Tobin asks slyly.

Alex shakes her head, not even dignifying Tobin with a verbal answer. Alex pushes the pants down along with the compression shorts and underwear underneath. “Hop up on the counter,” Alex instructs so she can get the clothing the rest of the way off.

Tobin does as told and waits until Alex stands back up again. “So are you going to tell me why you ran off?” Tobin asks.

Alex stays silent while she pulls Tobin’s undershirt than sports bra off, leaving her naked on the counter. She then turns away to check on the tub, stopping the water before it overflows. When she turns back around she holds her hands out to help Tobin down and into the tub. Tobin waits patiently, knowing Alex heard her.

Finally she takes a soft breath. “I’m still mad at you.” Tobin nods. “You’re gonna go to some team and I’m not going to be able to see you everyday.” Alex looks down at the water. “I’ll probably barely see you once a month. If you get hurt, how am I going to get to you?”

“I’ll be fine Alex. We don’t even know if I’m going to get drafted yet.” Tobin looks at her foot. “Especially not with this. I’m out of the Senior Bowl and am probably not going to be cleared by the time of the Combine so I have like no chance to get the invite.”

“There’s still pro day,” Alex offers.

“Yeah, but it’s almost a lost cause by then. I need to be ready by the Combine. Even if my running isn’t that good I need to be able to kick and I can’t really prepare if my foot is booted.”

“Tobin, it’s not your kicking foot. You don’t know what you can do yet. Just wait until we get back.”

“It’s going to be a few days until the surgery because of the swelling.”

“Let’s just take it one day at a time babe. Tomorrow we fly home and we’ll celebrate New Years however you want except no alcohol for you.” Tobin pouts. “You were just told you couldn’t drink with your meds.”

“A tiny sip won’t kill me.”

Alex reaches behind Tobin to get the soap and washcloth. “You weren’t gonna drink anyways, babe. Don’t be so annoying.”

“Are you going to get drunk?” Tobin questions, taking the cloth and making it sudsy.

“I wasn’t going to. I figured we were just gonna watch a few movies in bed.”

Tobin starts rubbing her arms with the cloth. “I think we still have that bottle of champagne from our anniversary. You could drink that.”

“No,” Alex shakes her head, “that’s for us.”

Tobin smirks as she starts to work on her legs. “If you drink it, it will be for us.”

“But you’re not drinking any of it.”

“I know.” Tobin wets her lip. “But you get extra horny when you’re drunk and I think that’s a present for me more than you anyways.”

Alex scoffs and splashes Tobin. “I’ll sleep in Crystal’s bed.”

“I’ll crawl up the stairs after you.”

Alex glances down at Tobin’s wet and naked body. She bites her lip. “You really are very sexy,” Alex says softly.

“I’d be even sexier tomorrow night with half a bottle of champagne in you.”

Alex reaches her hand into the water to rub Tobin’s leg. “It would be even sexier with _you_ inside me.”

Tobin grabs Alex’s wrist. “Help me to the bed.”

“Not yet. You’re still sweaty and gross.”

“Ouch.”

Alex pushes herself to her feet. “Finish cleaning yourself. I’ll be right back.”

Tobin looks after Alex confused as she walks out of the bathroom. “Where are you going?”

“I’m getting your clothes. Please just wash the sweat from your body.”

Tobin sighs and washes her hair and body. Five minutes later, Tobin calls out, “All clean.” Alex comes back in, in the UNC jersey she had been wearing. It hangs down to where her legs start, a black thong just barely visible. Tobin starts to try to push herself to her feet but as soon as she puts the weight down on her left foot. She falls back into the tub, water splashing over the side.

Alex rushes over and holds her hands out to Tobin. “Are you okay?”

Tobin nods, “Yeah, just forgot. Help me.”

Alex gets Tobin up and out of the tub with a towel wrapped around her. Alex then scoops Tobin up, carrying her bridal style out of the bedroom and to the bed. The television is on, playing the New Year’s Eve Show, as the couple brings in the New Year together, ignoring the banging and shouting from Tobin’s teammates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be posted Tuesday


	4. 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one, break it up if you want to make the story last longer. There's some technical-ey stuff about football that I feel like I simplified/explained but ask any questions. I'm weird and actually had fun researching it so it's pretty accurate, as much as it can be.  
> Anyways, enjoy!

Alex sits next to Tobin’s bed waiting for her to waking up. Tobin’s mom sat in a chair near the window as she types away on her computer, trying to get as much work done as possible. Alex puts her feet up on the bed and flips through through the channels of the television with one hand while holding Tobin’s hand in the other.

An hour after Tobin was wheeled back from surgery the footballer starts to stir. The two other women in the room look to Tobin, waiting for her to open her eyes.

“Tobin, baby, are you awake?”

Tobin groans and stretches her arms out. She opens her sleepy eyes. It takes a minute for her to get her bearings. “Oh hello,” she replies slightly hoarse. Tobin tilts her head then smiles and waves up at her.

“Hello.”

“I love this game,” Tobin says of the daytime game show Alex had stopped on after not finding anything else on the very few channels offered by the hospital.

“You’ve never seen this before.”

Tobin points at Alex with a dopey grin. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Alex replies, trying to keep from laughing at Tobin’s hoarse and loopey voice.

“You’re here,” Tobin replies giddy.

Alex nods, “Yeah. I told you I wasn’t going to leave until I knew you were okay.”

Tobin twists and turns back and forth for a few seconds with a large smile, “You  _ love  _ me.”

“Yeah, against my better judgement I do love you. I’m flying to Cali tomorrow. Jill wasn’t thrilled but she understood.”

~~~

Alex leans against the kitchen counter, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes while watching Tobin hop around the kitchen to add fruit to the blender. “So how late do you think you’re gonna be tonight?”

Tobin shakes her head. “I have no idea. Just eat dinner without me.”

“Tobs,” Alex whines, “It’s Valentine’s Day. Can’t you take one night off.”

“I know it is,” Tobin says defeated, “but I barely got the invitation to begin with. I’ve already explained this. I need to be ready. I can’t really practice with this stupid boot on.” She looks down at her foot. “I need to get all my other numbers up as much as I can. I… I need to be ready.”

Alex sighs, “Fine.” Tobin turns the blender on, drowning out Alex’s, “You better have gotten me a great fucking gift.”

Tobin doesn’t hear her, watching as her drink changes color to a muted pink. “We’re still doing lunch though, right?” Tobin ask while lifting the blender and pouring the liquid into her cup.

Alex nods, “Yeah, after I get out of class.”

Tobin smiles, screwing the cap on. “I’ll pick you up outside.”

Alex nods as Tobin adjusts the straps on her boot. “Be careful please and don’t get the cart stuck again. It rained last night so the ground might be a little muddy.”

Tobin looks up with a smirk. “That tour group was really fucking slow and I didn’t want to be late for my meeting.”

“Yeah,” Alex laughs, “and then you ended up missing the meeting entirely because you were stuck in a mud puddle.”

“I called. They understood...sorta.”

“Just be careful.”

Tobin rounds the counter and stops in front of Alex. “I love you. I’ll see you in a few hours.” Alex puts her arms around Tobin’s center and holds her while Tobin connects their lips. 

“Ew, please stop having sex in the kitchen.”

They pull apart and see Allie walking in in her pajamas. “I think you might need to go back to high school if you think that was sex.”

Allie flips them off as she heads for the coffee maker.

Just before 11:30, Tobin sits in her school issued golf cart waiting for Alex’s class to end. She puts her booted foot up and turns as two of her teammates walk by. They slap hands and start talking until Alex climbs in next to her. Tobin smiles and leans over to give her a quick kiss. 

“Alright guys, I’ll see you later. I’m taking my lady out.” They slap hands again and Tobin drives away. 

“So what are you doing tonight?” Tobin asks.

“Me, Crystal, and Lindsey are probably just gonna chill at the house. I think we’re gonna invite the team since most of them are single or are dating someone far away.” 

Tobin smiles and pulls up to the student center. Alex is about to get out but Tobin grabs her hand. “Can we eat outside?” 

“Sure, but we still need to go get food.”

Tobin smiles and reaches into the back for her backpack. “Is Chipotle okay?”

Alex smiles, “Did you take this off campus?”

Tobin holds her finger up to her mouth, “Don’t tell on me.” 

They sit under the canopy of the golf cart, eating their burrito bowls. 

“Are you going back to the gym after this?”

Tobin shakes her head. “I still have to write that paper so I’m gonna head to the library for a little bit but it should only take me a few hours if you want to come by after class.”

Alex shakes her head. “I have to go over my presentation with my group at three.”

“You could come to the pool with me after.”

“You know you’d have no desire to work out if I came to swim with you.” Alex pauses with the fork held up to her mouth. “Actually maybe I will come.”

Tobin growls softly causing Alex to laugh. “I’m going to marry you someday,” the football player promises.

Alex smiles but holds up her left hand. “Gotta put a ring on it first.”

~~~

Tobin’s phone rings and she looks down at the coffee table then over at Alex with wide eyes. 

“Pick it up,” Alex insists, motioning towards it erratically. “Pick it up.”

Tobin carefully reaches over for her phone and turns it over. Her shoulders fall. “It’s my sister.” Tobin accepts the call and brings the phone to her ear. “What Katie?...No. I haven’t heard anything...That’s why I told you to call Alex...I’ll have her text you if I hear anything...You’re ridiculous,” Tobin turns to Alex. “Can you please text Katie if I get a call or hear anything?” Alex smiles and nods. “She’ll do it...I’m going to kill you next time I see you. Alex can you please verbally respond so she knows I’m not talking to myself.” Tobin holds out the phone for Alex. 

Alex takes the phone, “Hey Katie. I’ll just text the family group chat when we know anything...Yeah, she’s a little on edge...We’re thinking fifth or sixth round... I’ve never seen her like this. It’s kinda cute.”

“Could you two stop talking about me and hang up?” 

“I gotta go. She wants me to hang up...Love you too. Bye.” Alex hangs up and sets the phone back down. “She says good luck.”

“I don’t need luck, I need a miracle.”

“Tobin, whatever happens today, it will be okay.”

“I know. It’s just so hit or miss. They took three kickers last year, one the year before, and none the year before that. What if no one needs a kicker?”

“You know that’s not true. There’s a few teams that need a kicker or need a better one, meaning you. You’re better than two of the guys they took last year and you’re just as good, if not better than Jake Elliott and they took him in the 5th.” Tobin looks at Alex, jaw slack. “What? I know what Google is. I’ve been with you long enough to understand all the stats I need to know.” Tobin softly smiles and Alex can tell she wants a hug. Alex leans in and wraps her arms around Tobin’s neck. “You were on the Heisman watchlist-”

“That was only because I was a girl and had had a good season. I was never actually in the running.”

“You were supposed to be in the Senior bowl and what about the Lou Groza? You were a finalist. You’re one of the top kickers in the country.”

“That was before the injury.”

“The injury was to your non kicking foot and you’re back to where you were preinjury. I think you’re fine. The coaches have seen you perform in a game. You said they understood you weren’t in top form at the Combine because of the injury.”

Tobin shrugs and looks at the television screen. Alex kisses Tobin’s cheek, “I love you, Tobin. Nothing will change that.” 

The phone rings causing them both to jump before realizing it’s Alex’s. Tobin grabs it for her. “It’s Kelley.”

“Hey Kel...No, we’re still waiting...She’s not really in the mood to talk to anyone...Yeah, I’ll tell her… Are you still up for the road trip?... Yeah, that’s kinda what I was thinking too but I didn’t want to jinx it...Okay, yeah, I’ll talk to you later.”

Alex hangs up and drapes her legs over Tobin’s lap. “Kel says good luck and if you end up in LA maybe you two can room together.”

Tobin leans into Alex, “Yeah, maybe.” 

They turn to the screen as a new call comes in. “With the one hundred thirteenth pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select outside linebacker…” Tobin’s head falls to the back of the couch.

Alex looks at her phone, responding to her mom’s many questions about the draft. “Hey, Tobs? I have a question.” Tobin looks away from the screen. “Well my mom has a question that I don’t know the answer to.”

“What’ll happen if you don’t like the team that picks you?”

“Honestly, not much. Either play for them or most likely not at all if they can tell you have a shitty attitude. They would have to trade or release me and it’s unlikely that they would do either if I was good enough to stay and no one would really want someone that can’t support the team that supported them.”

“Okay. I figured it wasn’t good.” Alex looks down at her phone. “She has another question.”

“What is it?”

Alex kisses along Tobin’s jaw. “She’s sending me a finals care package and wanted to know what you want in it.” Alex nips at Tobin’s ear.

Tobin sighs, and turns to look at Alex, “What I want, your mom can’t send.” 

Alex glances at the screen, seeing the Seahawks are up. She looks back at Tobin who is staring at the television again. “What if I distract you for a little bit instead?”

“How are you gonna distract me?” Tobin groans.

Alex slides her hand down from Tobin neck, inside her shirt and down her back, scratching her nails back up. “I have my ways.” Alex presses kisses down Tobin’s neck as she moves her hands to the front and starts to rub her chest. “Fuck,” Alex pulls away. “It’s really just not fair. I don’t think I’m going to be able to stand if you put on any more muscle. Everytime I see you I’m just gonna pass out from how sexy you are.”

Tobin shakes her head. “I’m not that strong. I was only able to do two reps at the Combine.”

“Of two hundred and twenty five pounds, Tobin almost every other guy there weighed nearly two hundred if not a lot more and you did four last week.”

“It doesn’t count if no one else saw it.”

“I saw it and they saw you kick a sixty six yard field goal to win a game with a broken foot. I don’t know what else they need to see.” Tobin opens her mouth to argue but Alex puts her finger up. “No more talking. I have things I want to do to you and I told Allie, Lindsey, and Crystal that they weren’t allowed to come back until dinner time.” She moves onto Tobin’s lap and pulls off her shirt. “Now shut up.” 

Alex reaches behind her back to undo her bra, Tobin’s favorite. She slowly lets it slip down her arms. She watches Tobin watch her, knowing she has her full attention now. Alex juts her chest out slightly and bites her lip. Tobin’s hand moves up, lightly touching her. “How did I get so lucky?”

“You were the cute, shy football player and I just couldn’t resist.” Alex pulls up the hem of Tobin’s UNC cutoff shirt. “And then you got these abs.” 

“So you really only like me for my looks?” Tobin asks.

Alex shrugs. “I won’t deny that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your glow up so far but I love you because you’re sweet,” Alex kisses her lips, “kind,” jaw, “romantic,” below her ear, “loving,” on her neck, “passionate,” a little lower, “strong,” she pulls on the shirt collar as she kisses the base of her neck, “stubborn,” presses a soft kiss along her collar bone, “sensitive.” Alex starts sucking on the warm skin. “Now let your hot, sexy, shirtless girlfriend show you how proud of you she is.” 

Alex reaches down and pulls Tobin shirt up and over her head. Then she leans in and presses her lips against Tobin’s. They continue to make out, Tobin’s bra comes off and soon Alex is tugging on Tobin’s shorts. Alex climbs back on top of her girlfriend who is laying back on the couch. Alex’s hands work down Tobin’s body, followed by her lips. Her fingers hook into Tobin’s underwear and she starts to pull them down. Another pick is announced in the background but neither realize, both focused solely on each other.  Alex is scratching her nails along Tobin’s thigh when her ringtone causes them both to turn. 

Alex reaches for it and looks at the number, not recognizing it. She hands it to Tobin who is now sitting up. “Answer it,” Alex urges.

Tobin does while pointing at their pile of clothes Alex had made on the floor. “Hello...Yes...” Alex glances at the screen to see who’s on the clock but she knows the Patriots don’t need a kicker and as far as either of them were aware, hadn’t even looked at Tobin. “...I’m good coach. How are you?...Yeah it’s on… No, no party…. I didn’t want to jinx it...” She turns to Alex with a huge smile. ‘Who is it?’ Alex mouths. Tobin holds up a finger and quickly reaches over for the notebook and pen Alex had been using to study earlier. Alex puts her bra and shirt back on. “I would love that…” Tobin starts writing. “Yeah, okay… Thank you so much… I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Tobin makes sure to hang up the phone then falls back onto the couch with a relieved sigh. “Holy crap!”

“Who was that?”

Tobin doesn’t even hear Alex, looking down at her naked body. “Shit. I need clothes.” Alex holds them out. “Thanks,” Tobin smiles. She smirks as she pulls on her underwear. “So what are your thoughts on Houston?” Alex smiles and wraps her arms around Tobin’s neck. “Babe, I need to get dressed. I can’t get drafted naked.” Alex smirks and releases her so she can get dressed. 

Alex looks at the screen, the Patriots are still on the clock but she realizes the Texans are up next. She quickly grabs her phone to text everyone sending out ‘it’s happening’ to Tobin’s family, her family, and a bunch of friends and teammates. As soon as she presses send the Patriots pick comes in and she hears “The Houston Texans are now on the clock.”

Hearing this is when tears start to flow down Alex’s cheek. She tries to hold them in, wiping them away. Her phone vibrates in her hand but she ignores it. Tobin finishes getting dressed and falls onto the couch next to Alex with a huge smile, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend’s shoulders.

Tobin’s eyes stay focused on the television. “Babe,”  Tobin squeals. “I’m getting drafted.” Alex nods, unable to speak. Tobin glances over and sees the tears flowing down, she turns to fully face her. “Babe you’re probably crying more than my mom right now.”

Alex wipes away her tears, shaking her head. “You’re going to Texas,” Alex cries.

Tobin nods. “I know.” She gives her a quick kiss then turns back to the screen. “I didn’t want to jinx it or anything but they were one of my top choices. The coaches were really great and the GM seemed cool.

The next call is announced and they turn to the screen. “With the hundred and sixteenth pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans select… Tobin Heath, kicker, University of North Carolina.” An image of Tobin appears on the screen. “The New York Giants are now on the clock.”

“Wow, what a pick.”

“The first woman to be drafted.”

“I’ve been watching her since her sophomore year and honestly it took me a month before I realized she wasn’t a guy.”

The other commentator laughs, “How?”

“I’m more of a PAC12 man and would look at stats or highlights. It wasn’t until I watched an interview that I realized it wasn’t just a short, long-haired guy. I’d never seen her with her helmet off.”

“We have a clip of the sixty six yard field goal she kicked earlier this year.”

“This kick is on my top ten list for greatest comeback wins and she had broken her planting -” 

“This is weird,” Tobin comments as they show her kick. “I know I’ve watched them talk about other people but it’s weird for them to be doing it about me.”

Tobin’s phone rings again and she answers it. “Hi mom.”

Tobin smiles as she talks to her mom. “Yeah he called me a few minutes ago. They’re sending a car for me in an hour to take me to the airport. I have a meeting with the coaches tomorrow… They’re putting me in a hotel. I have to pack. Shit. I have to pack.” 

Alex shakes her head. “I packed most of your stuff.” She wipes her eyes again.

“Um apparently Alex already packed a bag...Yes I will thank her…” Tobin turns to Alex. “Thank you... See. I think she’s crying more than you right now…,” Tobin groans, “All my classes are online this semester. I can take my finals in Houston… I don’t know. I’m not sure, it’ll depend on when rookie camp starts but if I have the day off I will fly in for the ceremony... They’re not going to give me a day off to go to graduation...Mom I need to go get ready... I’ll call you at the airport...Thanks. Love you too.” 

She hangs up the phone and stands. “When did you pack for me?” she asks as she walks to their room.

Alex shrugs, still seated. 

“Alex?” Tobin calls, halfway down the hall. “Are you coming?” Tobin appears next to the couch. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re going to Houston,” Alex repeats.

Tobin finally understands that Alex’s statement wasn’t of joy. “Babe.” She climbs behind Alex and holds her tight. “I am so in love with you. Us being apart will never change that and we won’t be apart forever. We’ve done the long distance thing before. I will be here whenever I can be. We knew it was unlikely that I was gonna end up with the Panthers and even then I would be here when you get drafted next year.”

Alex starts crying harder, shaking. “I know,” she cries, leaning into Tobin. Tobin can just make out what Alex says as she continues, “I was just hoping that you would be so I could at least see you once a week. Come to some games.”

“You can still come to games, just not as many.”

“You’re gonna meet so many new people.”

Tobin’s phone rings in her hand and she looks at it. “Babe, it’s Gillian, I have to take this. Come to the bedroom and help me get ready.” Tobin stands up and holds out her hand.

“Hey Gillian...Thanks...Yeah. I leave tonight. What about you?...So you talked to them already?...Okay cool. I need to finish packing...Yeah. I can do that. Send me the image and I’ll post it when I’m in the car... I’ll text you after it’s done and I’ll see you Monday.” Alex opens the door to their bedroom and walks to their closet to pull out the suitcase she had packed for Tobin that morning.

She places it on the bed and opens it to show Tobin what she’s packed. Tobin hangs up the phone and heads to her closet. “I have your suits.” Alex says pulling the garment bag out from her side of the closet. “I got them dry cleaned for you.” 

Tobin smiles, “Thanks.”

Alex grabs a tissue, hiccuping. She climbs on the bed and watches Tobin pack the rest of what she needs and quickly changes into dress pants, shirt, and jacket.

Tobin looks at her phone, “I have to go soon babe.”

Alex nods. “I know.” 

Tobin zips her bag and walks over. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” Tobin starts to roll her bag out of the room. “Wait,” Alex calls. “I got you something.”

Tobin stops and turns around. Alex walks to her side of the bed and opens her dresser. She pulls out a wooden box with a red ribbon wrapped around it. She hands it over to Tobin who pulls the ribbon off. “When did you get this?”

“I ordered it while you were at the combine.”

“Why?” she asks. Tobin slowly opens the box, revealing a fancy watch. The face is dark blue with white hands, a black mesh band, and tiny diamonds surrounding the numbers. She looks up at Alex. “Alex, this is too much.”

“Turn it over.”

Tobin turns it in her hand and looks at the back to see the number 17 carved into it. “I don’t know if that’s going to be your new number but it’s always been your number and it’s how I’ll always picture you, in your high school uniform.”

“I really hope not. I had a lot of baby fat.” There’s a knock on the front door and Alex starts crying again. Tobin quickly slips her watch on and gives Alex a kiss. “I’ll be right back.” She races to the door and talks to the driver for a minute. She hands over her suitcase then walks back to Alex who is watching her from their doorway.

“Alex, please don’t cry.” 

“I can’t help it,” Alex whimpers.

Tobin holds her hands out and Alex steps into them. She shakes as her emotions take over again, sobs racking her body. Tobin holds on tightly, kissing Alex’s hair, while reminding her how much she loves her. 

After five minutes, Tobin pulls away again. “I really have to go. You can text me as much as you want and I’ll call you tonight.”

“Promise?” Alex asks, voice extra raspy.

“Of course,” Tobin nods. “Can I have a kiss for the road?” Alex wipes her nose with the back of her hand then leans into Tobin. They kiss for a minute before Tobin pulls away. She takes a deep breath then steps out of Alex’s grasp and lifts her backpack to her shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Alex replies. She grabs Tobin’s shoulders and fixes her jacket, making sure it sits right before letting her go.

In the car, Tobin looks through her emails. Finding a bunch from the Texans front office already, and two from Gillian. She saves the image of herself in her UNC uniform but with the Texans colors and logo around her. She opens Instagram, immediately following the Texans. She sees a different shot of her from UNC with her draft pick number as the last image posted. Tobin taps on it and likes it, noticing a ton of her friends had already liked the image and commented on it as well.

Before she starts going through her feed, Tobin then goes to her own account and posts the image Gillian had sent while adding the comment. ‘Proud to say I’m a Texan. Houston here I come.’ She then tags @houstontexans. Her notifications continue to cause her phone to vibrate so she goes to look. It is mostly a bunch of people she doesn’t know talking about her being drafted. She responds to some of the many texts that are still coming in from friends and family congratulating her. 

Before she knows it, the car pulls up in front of her terminal and she steps out. She’s standing in the security line, looking at her email from Gillian of everything that she needs to do in Houston when a young girl comes up to her. This had happened a few times at or around campus especially after a football game but never this out of context when she’s wearing no UNC apparel or with the team. She had watched it happen to Alex a few times over the summer while they were home but Alex was a starter on the world stage and was quickly becoming the new face of the national team.

Tobin quickly came to her senses and takes a picture with the girl using the dad’s cell phone. They talk for a minute, ending in the a handshake and the dad congratulating her on the draft. The rest of the people in line look at her, trying to figure out who she is but Tobin ignores them, pulling on her headphones until she makes it to the front of the line.

“You coming or going?” the TSA agent asks, making small talk as he looks at Tobin’s New Jersey driver’s license.

“Going...I guess.” Tobin realizes the answer has a much longer response than he probably cares for. He looks at her strangely as he hands her back her phone and license. “I’m probably moving there,” Tobin offers.

“Have a safe flight,” he smiles. 

“Thanks.”

~~~

Tobin lays back on the bed and tries Alex again with no answer. She starts typing out a text.

**My Queen: Hey not sure where you are but I’ve tried calling you a bunch. I want to tell you everything**

**My Queen: Got to my room a few minutes ago and they have the fluffiest robes. I think I’m going to sleep in it**

**My Queen: Don’t know if you got my voicemail from earlier but I got stopped four times at RDU to take pictures with people and sign stuff. I didn’t realize this then but they flew me first class. They gave me champagne and everything not that I drank it but still pretty cool**

**My Queen: So when I landed there was a bunch of reporters and some fans and some of the social media people from the team. I’ve decided that Gillian is right and I need to do those interview classes because I sucked at all of them. Luckily the questions were mostly ones I had been asked before basically all about being a girl so they weren’t too bad but Gillian sent me the list of all the people that have already contacted her for media stuff and it’s longer than my arm.**

**My Queen: They had a conference room for me and the other rookies where they ordered a bunch of really good barbeque. I met them all. It was awkward but they were nice. Only one of them would be on special teams with me though and he kinda reminded me of Jason in the gentle giant kind of way.**

**My Queen: I have meetings with basically everyone and their mother tomorrow. My schedule is almost entirely planned out from 7 to 9 so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to talk but I’ll send you a picture of it when I get up. Did I mention this hotel bed is amazing? We need a new bed**

**My Queen: I’m getting a little worried that you haven’t texted me since I went through security but you did have a chance to post the second most awkward photo set of me throughout the years. Dom totally beat you though. Lucky for you we didn’t know each other freshman or soph year. We both look like babies.**

**My Queen: And can you thank the uswnt sm person for the post. I feel like the texans might have grown a new fan base around the country mostly because of you**

**My Queen: Okay. I need to try and sleep cause I need to be up early tomorrow. I found the note you wrote in my bag. Thank you. I love you so much too. I’ll text you tomorrow. Night**

~~~

Tobin looks at her messages while waiting to be led to her next meeting with the special teams coaches.

**Lex: Sorry about yesterday. I was upset about you leaving but I’m still so proud of you. Good luck today. I love you so much. Call me if you’re free. Me, and the girls are just having a lazy day around the house so I’m free all day. How is it going so far? What does tomorrow look like for you?**

**Lex: I watched all the interviews I could find. You did good and looked hot in that suit. Also I saw the picture of you with the rest of the draft guys. You’re definitely the cutest**

She moves down to her messages from Allie.

**Harry: Just gonna start this off by saying Alex is super proud of you and happy for you**

**Harry: So Crystal and I found her last night when we got back. She was crying in your bed. Had been for a while it seemed. She’s scared she’s losing you. She thinks she’s holding you back and stuff and that you’re going to meet someone new**

**Harry: She knows you love her but she’s still scared. Give her a call when you can. I think she’d like to hear your voice**

Tobin calls her girlfriend after dinner when she has time to sit in her hotel room alone. They talk for two hours, Alex crying through part of it.

~~~

Tobin sits behind the large wooden desk, in front of a panel of screens that have her name and the Texans logo. She looks at the helmet next to the final page of her long contract. She looks down as instructed and signs it.

“So what are you gonna buy with your first paycheck?” one of the social media people asks when she stands up, phone pointed in her direction.

“Uh… it’s a surprise,” Tobin answers, ending it with an awkward smile. The phone goes down. “Sorry. I can say an apartment or something if you want.”

“Who are you surprising?” he asks, putting the phone away as he leads Tobin down the hall.

“My girlfriend.”

“Is it a ring?”

Tobin chuckles and nods, “Yeah. How’d you know?”

“Most guys come in and it’s one of three things, themselves, their mom, or their girlfriend. If it’s for their girlfriend it’s almost always a ring.”

“We both already know it’s coming. We’ve talked about it a bit. Not sure when I’m gonna do it though. She’s got another year of school then will probably get drafted to somewhere that’s not Houston so she won’t be moving here anytime soon.”

“Wait,” he stops her. “Your girlfriend plays too?”

Tobin shakes her head. “Not football. She plays soccer. She plays at UNC but also on the US National team if you ever wanted to do a collab with them. A kicking contest could be cool. I’m half decent with a soccer ball.”

He nods, “I’ll get in touch with their social media people. We don’t have a lot going on right now so any content is good content.”

“They posted about me getting drafted so they’d probably be down for something. We could use some of the Dash players. I lived with JJs girlfriend for a year when she was UNC.”

~~~

Alex sits on their bed watching and reading everything she can find about Tobin. An interview with the head coach is next on her list of tabs. He’s standing in front of Texan’s backdrop with reporters circled around, phones held out.

“What stood out to you about Tobin when you interviewed her at the Combine?”

“Her humbleness and her drive to play. I was looking forward to having her on my team for the Senior Bowl but unfortunately injuries happen. She called me a few days after her injury, I think right after she got out of surgery, and apologized that she wouldn’t be ready in time for the game like she had some control over it.

“She knew being brought up to this level would be a long shot but at the Combine she told us she wanted to prove to us that she was good enough to be on the field. She was still in a boot a week prior .”

“Should have still been in one,” Alex mutters.

“When she was there she actually told us not to draft her if we were just gonna showboat her around as the first female player, put her in a few times, maybe, but never give her a true shot. She didn’t care about the money or fame or whatever. Just wants to put her helmet on, be part of a team, and play.

“That really stuck to me. Someone with her mindset is always driving to get better, doing the extra rep. I hope having her around will set an example for the rest of the rookies and even some of the veterans on the team. Practice might be over but is their more you can do to be better? In talking with her previous coaches she’s normally one of the last ones off the field. That’s the kind of player I want.”

“How is the locker room dynamic going to change?”

“Why does it have to change? We have women in our locker room already. We will work with her to see how she wants to address any shower or changing situations but this is work and we expect everyone to be professional.”

“Does that mean there will be repercussions if something unprofessional is done?”

“I haven’t thought that far in advance but I’m not going to put any of my players in a situation where they feel uncomfortable. She has been playing football for a long time without any problems that I’m aware of. I would hope we can bring that level of mutual respect to our stadium and any other stadium we visit.”

“Back to Heath’s playing ability, how do you think she will stack up?”

“Every rookie stumbles. This is a faster, rougher game than college but the football is the same and I’m not sure if you’ve seen any of her film but she can kick the * _ beep _ * out of a football.”

“And if she gets tackled?”

“I’m gonna go back to her years of getting tackled. She’s a kicker so she’s going to be protected by that but she’s still tough. She kicked a bomb with two broken bones in her foot. She was a week out of her boot at the Combine and was able to kick a 50 yard field goal. Brian, our GM, saw her at Pro Day a few weeks ago and she was kicking 60s almost every time . If that doesn’t give you an idea of how she comes back and can take a hit, I don’t know what will.”

“Did you or Brian talk with your team at all before the draft?”

“You mean to get their opinion on a player or to ask if they would be okay if we drafted a girl, excuse me, she’s twenty one, a woman?”

“To see if they would be comfortable playing with her?”

He laughs, “If Tobin was a guy, would you ask that? She’s a player who can help this team win. Have we talked to players about potential draftees before? Yes. To see what they are like having played with or against them. We want to know everything we can about a player before bringing them in. We talk to their coaches, teammates, I’ve even met parents a few times. But no, I have never, nor will I ever ask for their opinion on if they want to play with someone for strictly personal reasons. She’s a football player. That’s all I care about.”

The video ends and Alex closes that tab to start reading the next article.

‘Texans Release Rookie Contract Details For 2018 Draft Class’

Alex scans the first few paragraphs that don’t mention Tobin at all until she gets to the one that does. 

‘Tobin Heath signed for $2.901 million with a $409,489 signing bonus. The fourth-round pick is the first woman to be drafted into the NFL and will possibly see extensive time for kickoffs, field goals, and extra points. There is also a one year, $1.25 million NLTBE incentive for making 85% or more of her field goal attempts. This is a four year deal.’

Alex stares at the numbers. She knew Tobin would be making quite a bit but they had never discussed the specifics. She takes out her phone and snaps a picture, sending it to Tobin.

**Lex: Is this seriously how much you’re making?**

She goes back to stalking while she waits for a response, reading an article about the women in the NFL as coaches, officials, staff, and now Tobin.

**My Queen: I mean I’m only getting like half of it because of taxes and I have to pay Gillian and stuff**

**My Queen: They had a little finance meeting. Telling us how to handle our money and stuff though I think my situation is a lot different then the guy who got a 8.3 mil signing bonus**

**My Queen: So far I haven’t gotten anything but the signing bonus which wasn’t technically that number. It’s like a third of that. I think that’s actually my guaranteed. Then the 2.9 is my total over the four years. It raises a little bit each year but basically its that divided by four each year**

**My Queen: I’m putting most of what I have in the bank. I’m giving myself $50k to find an apartment and everything else I need for the year.**

**Lex: That’s smart**

**Lex: What does the incentive thing mean**

**My Queen: The letters stand for not likely to be earned. It means the league doesn’t think I’ll make 85+%**

**Lex: Well that’s rude. I think you’ll make 100%**

**My Queen: Thanks babe. It’s mostly so Houston can possibly pay me more but stay under the salary cap**

**Lex: I say if you make that we take the money and go on vacation**

**My Queen: Let’s see what happens before you start booking plane tickets**

**Lex: I want to be with you on a beach with a hotel room to go back to**

**My Queen: I’ll try my hardest**

**Lex: :D That’s all I ask**

~~~

Tobin’s popularity and fame had exploded within a week of the draft. She had been somewhat well known before but now it seems like everyone in the sporting world knows about her and even outside of that, she had done interview with most of the major new stations. Her follower count had reached the millions within a week.

The first time Alex really noticed it was during Tobin’s rookie camp when the team did individual profiles of each draftee for Instagram. Tobin’s picture was of her in loose navy shorts, helmet dangling from her fingers, and a red Texans jersey with the sleeves rolled up.  At first Alex was scanning through the get back in the kitchen type comments and the arguments against them, wanting to like each counter of a sexist comment but knows she shouldn’t. Alex then comes into a block of comments talking about becoming a football fan just to watch Tobin. Then she started seeing comments about Tobin’s muscular thighs and where in relation to their heads they wanted them. Alex nearly lost it. She Facetimed Sydney, knowing her usually hot headed friend could calm her down from going off on Instagram.

“Alex they’re just people on the internet. Tobin is never going to meet any of them. You’re...,” Sydney makes a face and forces herself to swallow, “...the only one she wants in between her legs.”

~~~

Tobin lays back in her new bed, finally finished unpacking. She picks up her phone and lays back. 

**My Queen: Call me when you’re free**

Tobin’s phone rings almost right away.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asks as soon as Tobin accepts the call.

“Nothing,” Tobin laughs. “I just wanted to ask you something?”

“What?”

“When is your camp next month?”

“I’m not sure exactly. Towards the end cause I think one of our games is in August.”

“Do you know if you’re free on the eighteenth?”

“Not really sure babe, why?”

“I was thinking maybe you’d want to come to LA with me,” Tobin says coyly.

“Why are you going to LA?”

“Just some award thing I got invited to. I don’t know,” Tobin tries to downplay it. She can hear Alex moving things around in the background.

“What’s the award for?”

“Um well it’s a nomination. I don’t know yet if I got it.”

“Is it for the kick? I thought they already did all those in December, bowl games don’t count.”

“Different award babe.”

“Are you gonna tell me what it’s for then?”

“So there’s two. The first is actually against one of your teammates for Best Female Athlete an-”

“You got an ESPY nomination?”

“If you had listened, you would have heard I got two.”

“OMG Tobs that’s so amazing. Of course I’ll come with you. I’ll text Jill right now and tell her I might be late if camp starts before that or I’ll go and leave and come back. Babe I’m so proud of you.”

Tobin laughs, “Do you even care what the other award is for?”

“Is it for sexiest athlete, cause you’re definitely winning that one?”

“And you would be okay with that?”

“Good point. So what’s it for?”

“Best Breakthrough Athlete.”

“Are you excited?” Alex asks, very obviously excited herself.

“Not as excited as you.” Tobin rolls over and looks out the window at the Houston skyline. “My bed came and it’s so comfy. I can’t wait for you to get here.”

“Two days till we leave. Then it’s almost a whole month of us together.”

“Do you want to help me buy a car next week?”

“I thought you wanted to save your money?”

“I am. I’m not getting a Bentley. The Jeep didn’t like the drive from New Jersey. I think it’s time to retire her but I’ll probably get another one. And babe, I’ve barely used any of my signing bonus that I set aside for my move. Almost all of it is still in the bank.” 

“You don’t need to rub in that you’re a millionaire now,” Alex groans. “Did Gillian ever get back to you with the Nike deal?”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you?” Tobin says with a hint of faux sadness.

“No, what?” Alex asks worried.

“The offer...well it wasn’t what we expected.”

“Those assholes.”

Tobin nods even though Alex can’t see her. “Yeah. So they offered me two point five mill and I guess I also never told you I also got offers from Beats, Coke, Wilson, Gatorade, a contacts company, a bank, some smaller, local stuff, um what am I forgetting?”

“Holy crap. You really are a millionaire,” Alex breathes heavy trying to calm herself.

“I haven’t signed anything yet.”

“Are you turning down any of those offers?”

“Probably not if they are paying me to use stuff I mostly already use.”

“Babe that’s crazy?”

“I know. It’s so much more than my contract. After we heard the offer from Nike, Gillian was just like ‘I’m gonna put out some feelers’ and within a day everyone was calling her. I’ve already turned down some stuff because it competes with Nike or one of the other bigger ones that I want to sign with.

“I’m actually flying up to Portland tomorrow to visit their headquarters, sign everything, and do a little shopping.”

“Want to get me a pair of cleats or two? I’d prefer Carolina blue but I’ll also accept red, white, and blue. For the US of course.”

Tobin laughs. “Of course.” There’s silence for a minute, then Tobin quickly asks, “Do you want to come with me?” She reaches over for her computer. “I can get you a flight there and then we can just fly back to Houston together.”

“Babe, me and Kelley are driving down to you. Did you forget in the last five minutes?”

“No. Maybe,” Tobin groans. “I was just hoping.”

~~~

“So what kind of car are you thinking about getting?” Alex asks as they lay in bed.

“I want another Wrangler. I’m actually kinda getting one made for me. It should be ready next week.”

“What happened to me helping you pick it out and saving money?”

“I am saving.” Tobin smirks and buries her head in Alex’s neck. “Jeep’s one of my sponsors so I’m only paying for the add ons I’m getting. It’s cheaper than what I was originally gonna spend and they’re paying me more than I’m spending.”

“Well then you wanna buy something for me with all that extra cash you got lying around?” Alex slides closer about to lean in. “I have a few things in mind.”

“Already did,” Tobin mumbles, mostly to herself as her eyes start to close.

Alex pulls away to look down at Tobin. “What is it?”

Tobin sighs as Alex distances their lips, “A surprise.”

“No,” Alex whines. “I hate surprises. Tell me.”

“You love surprises. You’ll like it. I promise.” Tobin moves so she’s laying on top of Alex. “I would be inclined though to doll out some money if you were to put on a show.”

Alex looks up into Tobin’s eyes, her hands slowly sliding down her sides. “You want me to do a strip tease for you?” Tobin shrugs with a smirk, her hips pushing down into Alex’s. “Do you have music?” Tobin bobs her head. “A chair?” 

“Just tell me which one you want and I’ll bring it in here,” Tobin hurriedly offers, pushing herself up.

“Surprise me,” Alex smirks, “but give me a few minutes. I need to get ready.”

Tobin blinks at Alex for a few seconds before leaning down to kiss her then swiftly exiting the room. Alex rolls out of bed and quickly moves to her suitcase in Tobin’s closet. She sheds her sweats for a black lace underwear set she had bought with Kelley’s help before their road trip.

Alex is fixing her hair in the mirror when she hears a knock at the door to the bedroom. “Come in,” Alex calls. The bedroom door opens but Alex remains in the closet. “I’ll be out in a second.” Soft music trickles into the closet as Alex finishes preparing herself.

~~~

Alex ties the back of her bathing suit and rolls over on her towel. She glances at Tobin who seems to be sleeping next to her. She smiles and reaches for her phone. Once she finds a good angle to get both of them and as much of the beach as she can, she takes a few pictures. Alex looks through them to find the perfect one. She tags Tobin and Zuma beach then posts it to Instagram. 

**_alexmorgan13_ ** _ It’s tiring being this good _

Alex sets her phone down and reaches over to Tobin’s arm. Tobin hums, her eyes staying closed. “I was wondering if you wanted to help me put my sunscreen on.”

Tobin sighs softly but pushes herself up to her knees. “Sure.” Alex reaches into her bag and hands the lotion to Tobin. She smiles and faces Tobin. “Are you really going to make me stand up?”

“Why would you need to stand?” Alex asks playfully, glancing down at her chest.

Tobin tilts her head to the side, “Seriously?” Tobin looks around. “Alex, there are families here. I’m not rubbing this on your chest in front of children.” Tobin hands the tube back and lays down again, head turned away from Alex.

Alex groans and squirts some of the sunblock into her hand. She takes in a quick breath when she places the cold lotion against her skin. She starts rubbing it over her chest, her fingers sliding under the cups and straps of her bikini. She glances down and notices Tobin turned back to face her and watching with slight interest.

“Enjoying the show?”

“Mmhm,” Tobin grins.

“This could have been you,” Alex offers as she starts on her stomach. “I wish it was.”

“If you were coming to Houston after camp we could have done it then.”

Alex smiles, “I like that but I plan on  _ doing it _ in our hotel room.”

Tobin grins. “I can’t wait. I’m going to miss having you home with me.” Alex’s smile turns soft and Tobin looks at her confused. “What?”

“I liked you calling the apartment our home.”

Tobin smiles and Alex leans down to give her a quick kiss. “I can’t wait until we can live together in a place that’s just ours,” Tobin says when Alex pulls away. “I really liked having you with me. It was peaceful. It’s gonna be lonely when you leave.”

“You could come visit me.”

“You know I start camp before you get back,” Tobin reminds her, “but I’ll be closish. We’ll be in the same time zone at least.”

Alex nods, “but you’ll be four hours away.”

“We can Facetime at night before we go to bed.”

Alex nods but pouts. “It won’t be the same as our late night body massages during preseason.”

Tobin hums in remembrance. “We should reenact that tonight so I can picture it later without you.”

Alex sits back down to tan her front. “You could always call me so I could help you picture it. I now have that big master bedroom all to myself.”

Tobin smiles and reaches her hand over to rest it over Alex’s. Alex lays down fully on her towel and turns her hand up, locking her fingers with Tobin’s. They grow silent, enjoying the sun on their skin. 

Half an hour later, Tobin yawns and pushes herself up onto her knees. “Want to come take a dip in the water with me?”

Alex lifts her sunglasses. “Sure but I don’t want to stay in. The water’s cold. I’ll watch you though.”

They walk down to the edge of the surf together. As soon as the wave washes over Alex’s toes she stops. “Nevermind. That’s like freezing. I’m good here.” Tobin shakes her head and leans over to press a kiss against Alex’s cheek then continues into the water. 

Alex watches as Tobin dives into the wave and smiles as she comes up and whips her hair out of her face. Tobin wades in further and then lets her leg float up so she’s laying on her back. Alex watches her for a few minutes then slowly walks into the cold water, wincing with each step. 

When she finally reaches Tobin she stands behind her and looks down. “You look peaceful,” she smiles.

Tobin nods. “What more could I want? Sun, beach, and babes.”

Alex raises her eyebrow. “Babes?”

“It felt weird to say babe but it’s only you.” 

“It better be,” Alex threatens. She leans down and kisses Tobin’s forehead. “I’m getting out. This is freezing.”

Tobin lets her feet sink to the sand and lets Alex climb onto her back. Before she can move, Alex grabs Tobin’s head and turns it to connect their lips. Tobin moans into Alex’s lips and pulls her to her front. Tobin starts to run her hands under the band of Alex’s bikini bottom but Alex pulls back. “Not here.” She glances back towards the shore. “There are families, remember? Let’s dry off then we can go back to the hotel and finish this.” 

Tobin smiles, “That tub was pretty big.”

“We should start in the shower first,” Alex grins, “wash the sand off and then we can move to the bath. I have a few things I want to try out.”

Alex slides back around to Tobin’s back. “And what exactly do you want to try?” Tobin asks as she starts to walk them back to their stuff. 

“Well, yesterday while you were in meetings, I might have bought a toy or two,” Alex nips on Tobin’s ear, “waterproof of course.”

“You don’t mean a rubber duck right? You mean like a toy, toy?”

Alex hums against Tobin’s skin.

Tobin glances over her shoulder. “What did you get?”

“Just gonna have to wait and see love.”

Tobin reaches their stuff and let’s Alex climb down onto the towel. “What made you buy a toy?” Alex sits down while Tobin rings out her hair. She is about to answer when another voice interrupts her.

“Umm excuse me?” The two look towards the voice and see two girls around their age standing a few feet away. “Are you Tobin Heath?”

Tobin nods and runs her fingers back through her hair. “Yeah.”

The other one lifts her phone. “Can we get a picture?”

Tobin nods, “Uh sure.” She steps closer to them. “Alex, do you mind?”

Alex looks at Tobin then the two bikini clad girls, shaking her head with a fake smile. “Not at all,” she says as pleasantly as she can, even though inside she’s feeling a whole different kind of way and stands up.

“Sorry, I’m a little wet,” Tobin apologizes as she looks down at herself. 

“That’s okay,” they both reply with a happy smile. Alex internally snarls. The one with the phone takes a few steps towards Alex then walks to the opposite side of Tobin so they’re on each side of the kicker. 

Tobin puts her arms around each of their shoulders and they each put an arm around Tobin’s bare torso. Alex takes a few pictures as they all smile at her. Alex hands the phone back and Tobin drops her arms. 

“Good luck this season,” one says. 

Tobin smiles, “Thanks.”

The couple lays back down but more people, mostly groups of twenty-something year old girls, come over for pictures with Tobin. Alex getting increasingly more annoyed with each group, not because Tobin has fans but because these fans are very obviously checking Tobin out right in front of her. Tobin doesn’t see it but can tell Alex is getting slightly aggravated. She puts it to Alex being annoyed that her tan and their alone time is getting interrupted.

After about the tenth group, Alex feigns being tired and asks if they can go back to their hotel. She reminds her about the toys and promises Tobin a nice long shower which Tobin readily agrees to and they pack up their stuff. Alex grips Tobin’s hand as they walk up the beach and leans close, whispering in her ear a story that had happened at the last camp that she had forgot to tell Tobin about. The story didn’t need the privacy but Alex did. She needed it to look that way for the groups still around them and to remind herself that she was Tobin’s and none of the others came close..

~~~

**My Queen: You’ll never guess what I signed after practice**

Tobin knows Alex is in practice so she sheds her clothes and gets in the shower. When she gets out she stands in the steam filled bathroom, wrapped in a towel and checks her phone.

**Lex: If you tell me that you signed someones bra we’re having words**

**Lex: Same for someone’s chest**

**Lex: Actually, that’s even worse**

Tobin laughs and types out a response.

**My Queen: She asked really nicely though...**

Alex starts responding immediately.

**Lex: Are you fucking kidding me? You signed some girls chest**

**My Queen: No. Calm down**

**My Queen: There was a little girl maybe like 10 who was wearing your jersey**

**My Queen: She wants to be you when she grows up**

**Lex: That’s so cool. Did you get a picture?**

**My Queen: I took one with her but I don’t know if they’re gonna post it. Her parents have it but there were so many cameras around. I’m sure it’s somewhere**

**Lex: Can we go back to the girls chest thing?**

**My Queen: It was a kid. I signed the back. It was the black one from last year so I signed the number**

**Lex: No. I meant like for when it happens because based on the attention you’re getting I’m surprised it hasn’t already happened**

**My Queen: It’s not something I want to happen**

**Lex: I know. You can do it if you feel comfortable because I don’t want to sound possessive even though I am (you’re mine) but I need you to tell me about it afterwards. Also see if you could sign their bra instead**

**My Queen: I really don’t think this is going to come up very often. Almost all of the stuff I sign is for kids**

**Lex: Like half the people commenting on all your posts want to do you so it’s going to happen**

Alex hears the door to their house slam closed. She listens for a second to decipher which of her roommates was home. “Hey Crystal, come here?”

A few seconds later, Crystal appears in her doorway. “What’s up?”

“What do you think about a team bonding session?”

“Where?”

“West Virginia,” Alex smiles.

“That’s like five hours away,” Crystal complains.

“Four,” Alex corrects. “We’ll rent two of the vans. Most of the team knows and loves Tobin and road trips are always good for bonding.”

“Why the sudden need to see her?” Crystal inquires, knowing something is up.

“I miss her and I don’t want to drive up there alone.”

“Alright. You text Anson and get the vans. I’ll send out a message but I’m making it optional and explaining the real reason for the trip is you wanting to see your girlfriend.”

Alex grins widely, “Can you add that it’s a surprise and not to tell Tobin at all?”

“You wanna surprise her?”

Alex nods. “I think I’m gonna try to get her to sign one of the freshie’s bra.”

“Um why?”

“It came up in conversation.”

“Is this gonna turn into a jealousy thing? Or a will she cheat on me kinda thing cause then I’m gonna text her myself because you’re cray. She would never cheat on you.”

“No,” Alex shakes her head adamantly. “I don’t think she’s going to cheat. I kinda just want to see how she reacts. Just like settle my nerves ya know so I don’t have to worry about it.”

“Okay, but don’t force any of them to do it. Strictly optional. No hazing.”

~~~

Alex sits in the stands with her teammates as she proudly watches her girlfriend run around the field with her own new teammates. Alex has on the Texans jersey that Tobin had sent her. Nikki, a freshman, sits next to her with one of Alex’s old UNC 17 jerseys. 

Alex has her phone out most of the time, taking pictures and sending them to Cindy who is very happy to see Tobin has made friends but starts saying she needs to eat more when Tobin takes off her pads. Alex doesn’t feel exactly the same way as she sees Tobin’s tanned muscular arms and knows what lies beneath the skin tight Nike shirt.

The group stands towards the end of practice and makes their way down to where the players will be signing. Alex stays back, hiding, with most of the team while Nikki and the other freshmen lean against the barricade, chatting and laughing.

Eventually the football players make their way over. Alex makes sure she stays hidden in the crowd when she spots Tobin. It takes a long time for Tobin to make her way to the group, getting stopped by everyone along the barricade for pictures and autographs. 

Tobin eventually sees her old UNC jersey and smiles at the group a few people away. It takes her a few minutes but finally she works her way over and leans against the barricade. “Hey, it’s Nikki right?” Tobin glances down the line, “And Mal, and… sorry I don’t remember the rest of your names.”

The tan brunette looks at Tobin confused. “Uh, yeah. How do you know who I am?”

Tobin refocuses on Nikki with a smile. “You came to the house last year when you visited campus. You’re from Jersey right. Was I not supposed to remember you?”

Nikki shakes her head. “Not really.”

Tobin looks over their heads. “Where’s Alex?”

“Hiding somewhere,” Mal responds. “Don’t look though.”

Tobin nods returning her focus on the group, “So what are you guys doing here?”

“Uh,” Nikki looks at her teammates then back at her captain’s girlfriend. “I’m supposed to ask you to sign my chest or bra.”

Tobin laughs and shakes her head, “I don’t know why I’m surprised. Do I have to actually sign it? Can I just pretend to sign something else in that area? If you lift the shirt for me to sign there will definitely be pictures and neither of us need that.”

Nikki nods her head. “Yeah. I don’t really care but I’d prefer not to. Alex basically just wanted to see how you’d handle it.” 

Tobin smiles and pulls the towel out of her shorts. “Cool.” She puts it near Nikki’s shoulder and starts signing it with the capped Sharpie near her collar bone, looking along the line of freshmen. “So how’s the team looking? How’s Anson?”

“Anson’s good. Teams looking good too.” Nikki looks at her teammates for confirmation. Tobin lowers the marker and pulls the towel back.

A team photographer comes up behind them. “You guys wanna take a pic?” Tobin asks motioning to the camera.

Tobin moves to the middle of the group and they all smile towards the camera. When Tobin turns back around she looks at the group of freshmen. “Is there anything you guys actually want signed?” she asks, they shake their heads. “Or can you somehow signal Alex to come out from wherever she’s hiding?” The group turns to look for Alex. 

Crystal leans towards Alex, “Come on loser. Let’s get this over with.” She then starts walking down the steps towards her old roommate.

Alex follows after her but makes it to Tobin first. Tobin smiles as she wraps her arms around her girlfriend. “Hey babe,” the footballer grins.

“Ew you’re super sweaty.”

Tobin shrugs, “It’s hot out.” 

She then goes to hug Crystal and her other friends but Crystal holds her hand up, “Love ya but no.” She points up and down Tobin’s body. “I don’t think so. She loves you unconditionally. Our love,” she motions between them, “is very conditional.”

Tobin laughs but steps back, “Fair enough.” She refocuses on Alex. “So did I pass?”

Alex looks over at the freshmen. “I guess.”

“I didn’t even sign anything,” Tobin argues. Alex tilts her head confused. “I just like scribbled on my towel with a capped Sharpie. I recognized her from last year and I’ve seen them all on insta. You guys post a lot babe. I know I’m famous and stuff now but I still look at the little people.”

Alex pouts. “I knew you wouldn’t do anything bad but seeing how you’d respond would make me feel better because I just picture the worst.”

“Which is why I pretended to sign it.” Tobin leans against the barricade right in front of Alex whispering. “I’ll sign it, maybe take a picture if that’s what they want, then move onto the next person. That’s it.”

Alex nods and leans in, kissing Tobin. “I love you.”

Tobin grins as a few of her teammates whistle behind her. “I love you too.” She turns her head for a second then looks at Alex again. “They totally think you’re just a fan.”

“Do they know you have a girlfriend?”

Tobin shrugs, “I think so.”

“Well they’re gonna get a definitive answer.” Alex grabs the front of Tobin’s sweaty undershirt, her other hand cupping the back of her neck and she pulls her in. Tobin presses into Alex, kissing her back. 

Tobin eventually pulls back with a smug grin. “So I shouldn’t do that with other fans right?” 

Alex’s teammates laugh while Alex just glares at her. “Only if I can too.”

~~~

Alex sits on the couch in her living room. She adjusts her new, white, number 17, Houston Texans jersey. The room is crammed with her teammates as they watch the Texans-Packers pregame. Tobin’s moving headshot comes up on the screen and the whole room starts shouting as Tobin glares back at them and crosses her arms. Crystal elbows Alex who is proudly smiling. They switch to a live image of her warming up and Alex’s eyes start to water, seeing her girlfriend’s dreams officially coming true, live. Alex turns and holds her phone out and takes a selfie with the television in the back. Some of her teammates notice and smile at the camera. Alex knows Tobin won’t see it until after the game but she sends it anyways. 

**Lex: Wish I was there to see you in person but I’m supporting you from home with the girls**

The announcers talk about Tobin for most of the pregame, Alex trying to listen as they talk about her college stats. She smiles when they start going through the stands to show all the Heath jerseys, most being worn by little girls but quite a few by girls around their age.

Alex is still having a hard time with how much attention Tobin is getting. Not the fact that Tobin had become more famous in the sports world but the fact that now a ton of comments online are about how hot her girlfriend is. She tries to ignore it but Tobin’s sudden popularity has the Texans posting about her almost daily.

The new Tobin fans had also found her account and were commenting on the pictures she had of Tobin. The pictures showing Tobin in tighter clothing or in bathing suits seemed to be getting a lot more traffic than anything else, even ones from high school. 

“They do see me standing right next to her right?” she had asked Kelley one night during their road trip to Houston, “Like I’m kissing her cheek in the picture right before and my comment makes it obvious we’re dating.” 

“I don’t know Alex. I mean you get a bunch of stuff from randos too,” Kelley offered. “She’s just on a larger scale and she stands out more because she’s in a male dominated sport.”

“I still wish I could report all the comments.”

“I can see it on TMZ now. ‘US Women’s National Team and UNC soccer star Alex Morgan is jealous of all the new fans her hot NFL rookie girlfriend has’,” Kelley sassed.

Lucky for Alex she hadn’t found the fan pages dedicated to her girlfriend with collections of almost every publicly posted photo ever taken of Tobin from when she was a baby to now. 

~~~

Tobin sits in her chair inside of her curtained off locker, snapping the ring box open and closed. She looks around the away team’s locker room in Tennessee at her teammates. She knows Alex is somewhere above her in the stands along with both their parents. Tobin had flown the five in for the special occasion, though only four of them knew it was happening.

Their parents had arrived Friday night. Tobin’s parents had been to Tobin’s first two preseason games and the first regular season game against the Patriots. This would be Alex’s parents second game, having driven up to Boston with Tobin’s parents to see the Patriots game the previous week. 

Alex had been super jealous as she tried to prepare for her game against Stanford while continuing to receive pictures of Tobin from her mom. She was able to watch the first half with some of her team before they had to leave for their own game. Tobin had been upset after the loss but she had made her two field goals and there was nothing more she could have done.

Alex had arrived in Tennessee Saturday morning following her game the previous night in Florida. Tobin hadn’t been able to spend much time with any of them the previous day but she was able to spare an hour in the middle of the day after getting in from the airport where they all could meet for lunch. 

When the young couple had first seen each other they hugged for a long minute. Each inhaling the scent of the other that they had been missing for a month and a half. Tobin had been waiting to see Alex for one very important reason. The ring was finally picked out and ready. It had been pushed into her bedside table when she returned from West Virginia and was able to pick it up from the jeweler. She would pull it out whenever she was sitting alone in bed missing Alex, waiting until she could see her again and give it to her. Tobin had also found a ring that Alex could wear while playing. She bought one for herself too, hoping she wasn’t somehow jinxing it.

Tobin snaps the ring box closed and locks it away in the safe above her locker. Tonight is a must win because they’re in the same division but also because she wants tonight to be perfect and a loss wouldn’t help the mood.

Above her, Alex sits in between her dad and Tobin’s mom, everyone wearing Tobin’s jersey. Alex had just returned to her seat, slightly angry. She was walking around, trying to find something somewhat healthy to eat when she saw three twenty somethings, all wearing Heath jerseys. They had shared a look and smiled at Alex. Alex in return grits her teeth and groans, thinking that they think she’s also a fan girl. Alex turns, giving up and heading back to her seat. She sees a few more of Tobin’s jersey but they are all kids, mostly young girls, which helps keep her calm. 

Alex stands and cheers as the Texans take the field, unable to find Tobin in the sea of white jerseys. Alex is eventually able to find her as they all spread out and quickly points her out to the group. Alex’s eyes don’t leave Tobin for the first five minutes of the game even though Tobin stays on the sidelines.

As the game goes on, Alex starts to notice more and more Texans jerseys, almost all of them with Heath and 17 on the back. Even in Tennessee, Tobin has quite a few fans.

After the game, which ends in overtime 17-20 Titans, Alex heads down to the railing as some  of the players walk around to greet fans. Alex sees Tobin answering a few questions in front of a reporter and a camera. She sits down in a front row seat next to some fans who are leaning over the railing trying to get her attention.

Once the interview is over, Tobin looks up to where their parents are still seated, talking amongst themselves. When she sees Alex is missing she starts to scan the crowd for her girlfriend. Alex stands to make herself more visible. When Tobin picks her out, she smiles and begins her walk over. The young fans next to Alex get excited so Alex tilts her head to them. Tobin nods in understanding and greets them first. She signs their jerseys then moves onto Alex as more fans start to flock towards them.

“Hey,” she smiles up. 

“Hey yourself. You did good.”

“I missed one which would have had us tied.”

“It was over fifty yards.”

“Yeah, which I can normally make. It’s why they drafted me.”

“I still think we’re on track for the Bahamas.”

Tobin rolls her eyes. “The Bahamas is boring. Mix it up.” Tobin continues to sign while keeping up the conversation with Alex.

Alex smiles. “I’m hungry. Go shower then text me where we should meet you.”

“I have to do some press stuff first.”

“They gonna ask you the same five questions?” Alex asks.

“That’s what I ask myself everyday yet...here I go again.” She kneels down to pull off her cleats. “It should be quick though. I think they can only take the I’m a football player answer so many times before they get bored. At least until we make the playoffs then it will be a whole new ball game. I don’t mind the football questions but I rarely get them. Honestly I hope they ask me about the missed field goal just to have something new and actually be able to talk about the game.”

“I did like your response to the one last week about locker room romances.”

Tobin rolls her eyes. “It’s a good thing JJ was in there with me because I was about to go off. It’s no secret I’m gay and dating you yet that guy asked me which of my teammates I had the hardest time controlling myself around.”

“They obviously didn’t see the interview the last time you were accused of sleeping with a teammate. The conspiracy theories about you and JJ dating were fun though. Me and Kae actually got a good kick out of some of them.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” Tobin waves to her folks then looks back at Alex. “I’m gonna go shower now but I’ll be quick.”

“Good cause our parents have been complaining all game about being tired.”

Tobin smirks but looks down as she pulls her socks off. “Tell them they can go back to the hotel if they want. I can get us a ride to a restaurant.”

Alex looks up at her parents then back at Tobin. “It would be nice to get some alone time with you.”

“I had dinner with all of them last week. Tell them to take a hike and I’ll see them later.”

Alex rolls her eyes. “Not gonna tell them to take a hike but sure, I’ll get rid of ‘em.”

Tobin smiles, makes a fist and kisses her knuckles. She holds it up to Alex who grabs it and kisses over where Tobin had kissed. Tobin smiles, gathers her things and heads for the locker room.

An hour later, Alex finally reunites with Tobin. She smiles at the suit Tobin is wearing as she goes in for a hug, wrapping her arms tight around Tobin while avoiding the gym bag and garment bag. “You look hot,” Alex says into her ear.

“I don’t think a dress gives the kind of intimidation that I want so I wear the suit.” Tobin combs her fingers through her wet hair to try and calm herself. She smiles. “So I found a place but it’s a little fancy, is that okay?”

Alex looks down at her jean shorts, sneakers, and jersey. “Uh. This is all I have and I don’t really have anything fancy at the hotel either. It’s mostly just sweats and my soccer stuff.”

Tobin smiles. “Don’t worry. I got you covered.” She holds the black garment bag up and hands it  over to Alex. She points to a door right behind them. “You can change in there.”

Alex looks at the bag cautiously. “Did you just come with an extra suit?”

“Sure. Something like that. Go change.”

Alex takes the bag and walks into the bathroom. Tobin opens her gym bag and pulls out the heels she had bought along with the ring box. She slips that into her pocket then waits for Alex to emerge.

A few minutes later she does, the jersey and her shorts in hand. “Tobin, this is gorgeous,” Alex comments as she walks out in the black, almost knee-length dress with a cutout around her side. Alex looks down at Tobin’s hand, noticing the heels and quickly takes them, switching out her sneakers. “Do you have a brush in that bag of tricks and maybe deodorant. Tobin unzips her bag, thankful that now the ring is tucked safely in her pocket, and pulls out the requested items. She trades them for Alex’s socks and shoes then watches her girlfriend disappear into the bathroom again.

Five minutes later, Alex comes back out with her hair brushed over one shoulder and smelling like Tobin. Tobin puts her phone back in her pocket when she hears the door open and quickly steps into Alex, pressing a forceful kiss against her lips. “You look beautiful,” Tobin comments as she steps back for Alex’s hand. 

Alex blushes slightly, “Thanks.”

“Come on,” Tobin connects their hands, “the car is waiting.”

Tobin walks them past security to the player’s parking lot where a black sedan is waiting for them, the driver dressed in a black and white suite with a thin tie stands at the back door. When he sees them he quickly pulls the door open. 

“Wow,” Tobin comments, “this is a fancy Uber.”

Alex isn’t sure if Tobin is joking or not as she leads her over. Tobin helps Alex in then shuts the door. Alex looks around with her few moments alone. When Tobin gets in, throwing her bag to her feet Alex looks over. “What is all this?”

The car pulls away and Tobin shrugs, “I haven’t seen you in forever. I just wanted to treat you right, show you that I love you.”

Alex leans over, turning Tobin’s head fully towards her. She kisses her softly but tries to show the love she has through the kiss. “I don’t need any of this to know that you love me, Tobs.”

Tobin shrugs, “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.” Tobin leans forward to say something to the driver. 

When she leans back she turns to Alex. “We still have a little while before our reservation but I heard of something really cool here that I want to check out.”

“Okay. That’s a little ominous.”

“It’ll be fun. Trust me.” They arrive at their destination a little while later and Tobin helps Alex out. Alex look up at the building,  **Science Adventure Center** then looks around the empty parking lot. 

“Sorry, babe. They look closed,” Alex points out.

“Oh shoot, you might be right.” Tobin looks around too. “Let’s just check the doors. Maybe they have evening hours.” Alex looks at Tobin confused as she leads the way to the doors. 

“It says they close at five,” Alex states when they are a few feet away.

“Maybe they left the doors open and we can sneak in.” Alex shakes her head until Tobin pulls on the door and it swings opens. Tobin smirks, “See. Come on.”Tobin pulls Alex into the dark building.

“Tobin,” Alex hisses as the football player looks around. “We can’t be in here, we could get arrested.”

“We'll be fine. Come on. This way. Look. They have a planetarium.” Tobin walks in the direction the signs point her in, leaving Alex looking around the entryway confused. She then, as quickly as she can in heels, runs after Tobin. Tobin stops outside the door with a smile, waiting for Alex. She takes a deep breath as her girlfriend gets closer, holding her hand out. “Let’s just take a quick peek inside then if you still wanna go, we can.”

Alex sighs, “Fine, but you’re paying my bail money.”

Tobin pushes open the door and lets Alex enter first. The stars are on full display above them and Alex is mesmerized as they walk in, looking up. Tobin smiles and makes sure everything seems to be in place before motioning to the open space where a small table and two chairs is set up.

“Let’s go sit.”

Alex glances over and notices the table. She turns to Tobin, starting to piece together that this was their final destination. “What is this?”

“It’s my best attempt at dinner under the stars.” She leads Alex to the table then grabs the champagne out of the ice bucket. Tobin pops the cork and pours a glass for each of them. 

“This is amazing, Tobs,” Alex comments, looking up.

“You’re amazing,” Tobin counters, eyes focused on her girlfriend. Alex blushes then looks back up at the stars. They both stare at the ceiling for a few minutes until a door in the room opens. “Oh, I hope you don’t mind but I ordered for you.” A man in a white jacket places a plate down in front of each of them, he explains what they are quickly then quietly slips away. 

Alex smiles at Tobin, reaching over for another kiss. “How did I get so lucky?”

Tobin shrugs, grabbing her fork. “I think my ability to attract the ladies has always been strong.”

“Don’t you even... Your ability to attract  _ the ladies _ has grown and you don’t even understand how hard it is for me not to read the comments and reach through the computer to strangle each and every one of them.”

“Babe, they’re just fans. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“I know but it still aggravates me.”

“I only have eyes for you,” Tobin smirks and holds her arms out. “Even in this vast universe you’re the only one for me.”

Alex rolls her eyes and points with her fork, “Eat your food.”

They continue eating and talking, thanking the chef again as he brings out their main course. 

“Can we just stay here?” Alex asks. “Never leave.”

Tobin sighs and shakes her head. “You have practice tomorrow afternoon and I have a flight back to Houston.”

“I know. No need to remind me,” Alex pouts. “I just miss you a lot. It’s weird being at school without you. It’s kinda lonely at home and I actually have to make plans. It’s different.”

“It must be so hard to find someone to eat with.”

Alex nods, “It really is. I have to actually text someone to see if they’re free when it used to just be the two of us plus whoever else was around.”

“We could do more Facetime dinners. I normally eat alone in my apartment.”

Alex nods, “Yes. I like that idea. Once a week, me and you, date night. We can even try to cook the same thing.”

Tobin smiles and takes her last bite. She wipes her hands off on her napkin, calming herself. “Alex,” she says softly. “I don’t want dinner dates with you once a week.”

“Well it’s gonna be a little hard with both our schedules to even get that in once a week.”

“I meant I want more,” Tobin replies. “I want every night, face to face with you, like this.” 

“We will babe. It might take a little while but we will.” The chef comes out again holding a plate of chocolate covered strawberries. He takes away their dinner plates and sets the strawberries between them.  

Alex quickly reaches over and grabs one. Tobin remains silent, watching Alex. “Are you going to make me eat all of these by myself?”

Tobin shakes her head and Alex smiles, holding one out. Tobin smirks and leans forward to take a bite. “Is there anyway I could convince you to come back to my hotel room with me?”

“There might be a way,” Tobin nods, taking another bite.

Alex pulls the strawberry away and takes a small bite eyeing Tobin playfully. “What do I need to do?”

Tobin pulls her napkin off her lap and pulls the box out of her pocket, keeping it below the table. “Just answer a few questions for me?”

“No. I didn’t bring any lingerie,” Alex comments.

Tobin smirks. “That’s unfortunate but not what I was going to ask.” Alex waits patiently. “Do you love me?” Tobin asks seriously.

Alex tilts her head, confused. “Yes?”

“Do you want to be with me?”

Alex nods, “Of course babe.”

“Even if we have to be separated while we play?” Tobin presses.

“We’ve handled it well so far. I miss you but it doesn’t change how much I want to be with you. How much I love you.”

“Did you ever think when we were back in high school that we’d both end up here?”

“Not even close, it’s kinda crazy.” Alex shakes her head. “This is a lot of questions.”

“Just one more.” Tobin takes a deep breath and looks into Alex’s amused eyes. “Will you marry me?” Alex stays silent while Tobin pulls the box out from under the table and opens it to show what lies inside. Alex’s eyes fall down to the ring and she stays silent. They sit quietly for a few moments. “Babe?”

Alex looks up, her eyes watery. “Wha-?”

“I asked you to marry me.”

Alex starts breathing faster. “Oh. You were serious. Okay. Um… You,” Alex glances back down at the ring.

“Is that a no?” Tobin asks, kind of confused by Alex’s response, she was expecting surprise but not shock..

“What?” Alex looks back up at Tobin. “No, yes.” Alex takes a breath and tears start to freely flow down her cheeks. “Yes, I want to marry you.” Tobin smiles. 

“Did you really not see this coming?”

Alex shakes her head. “I thought you were just being romantic.”

Tobin chuckles and shakes her head. “Nope, just a proposal. I’ve been planning this for a while, trying to line up our schedules and stuff.”

“How long?” Alex asks, wiping her cheeks.

“Too long.” Tobin glances down at the box in her hand. “So did you want the ring?”

Alex smiles and nods. Tobin pulls the ring from the box and Alex holds out her left hand for Tobin. Tobin slides the ring on and Alex stares down. “Heavy,” she jokes before leaning in, grabbing Tobin’s face with both hands and kissing her passionately.

“Is the car still waiting outside?” Alex asks when she pulls away. Tobin nods. “Good. Let’s go.” Alex stands and holds her hand out for Tobin. 

“Alex,” Tobin says, standing up. “Our parents are here.”

Alex’s shoulders slump slightly and she pouts. She falls into Tobin, giving her a hug with her lips against Tobin’s neck. “I just want to take you to bed,” Alex whines quietly.

“You can,” Tobin smirks. “Just wait an hour.” She gives her a quick kiss before turning and waving towards a slightly parted door. “Then I’m all yours.”

~~~

Alex sits in the locker room, eyes closely watching the television hanging from the wall. The team had just won their second group game in the World Cup Qualifiers. After signing a few things Alex made her way to the locker room just in time for the start of the third quarter of Tobin’s game.  

Thirty minutes later everyone has showered and changed, Alex taking a five minutes shower while the Cowboys had the ball so she wouldn’t miss any of Tobin. The team sits around the room watching as Tobin jogs onto the field for a short field goal. “Come on baby,” she says softly.

“Yeah, come on baby,” Lynn mocks from next to her. 

Alex barely notices, used to her teammates’ teasing comments. Alex stays focused on the screen as Tobin lines up her kick then takes a few steps to the left. The rest of the team gets into position and Tobin gives the thigh tap to signal she’s ready. 

Before the ball is snapped, a Dallas player takes off towards her. “Offsides,” Alex comments, waiting for the flag and whistle. Neither come as the ball lands in the holder’s hands. Tobin doesn’t see the opposing player coming in as the play continues. Just as her foot is hitting the ball he dives into her, taking out both her her legs with his shoulder pads. She falls to her face and the locker room falls quiet, the whistles finally blow as flags come out on the field to stop the play. 

Everyone besides Alex moves their head back and forth like it’s a tennis match. Their eyes traveling between the screen and Alex. Alex walks to the television as if moving closer to the screen will make information come faster or help Tobin stand.

“And now Heath’s down, clutching her knee after Jones hit into her.” Alex’s eyes stay focused, finally showing Tobin. Her fiance is doubled over on her knees with her facemask pushed into the turf. She clutches her kicking knee with one hand, punching the ground with the other. The athletic trainers run over and lean down to talk to her. 

“Come on, Tobin. Get up.” 

They begin to show the replay. “Alright, guys,” Tony calls as he walks into the room, “bus is leaving.”

Alex doesn’t hear him, all her focus on the television. She cringes as she watches the slow motion replays from various angles, inhaling sharply each time Tobin’s legs are taken out. They then switch to live coverage and show Tobin up and walking around, trying to shake out her leg. A hand is placed on her back. She looks over and Kealia is looking down at her worried. “We gotta go, the bus is leaving.” Alex glances down at her ring and kisses it then looks back at the screen. Tobin iss jogging back out onto the field to take the kick. 

Alex grabs her bag that Kealia had brought over then glances at the screen one more time before following her teammates to the tunnel out of the stadium. 

**Lex: Just saw the hit but we have to get on the bus now. You were going back out but it still look like that hurt. Text me as soon as you see this to tell me how you’re doing. I’ll try calling you when we get to the hotel. I love you. I hope you’re okay**

~~~

“So when you move here do you think you want to get a house or just stay in the apartment?” 

“What do you mean?” Alex asks, confused at the sudden change in topic.

“Houston was last,” Tobin explains, smiling at Alex through the computer. 

Alex lies back in her hotel bed with a groan. “That doesn’t mean I’m gonna end up there.”

“You’re gonna get drafted first,” Tobin tells her. 

Alex slowly breathes out. “Maybe but there’s talk of expansion teams and if there are they get first draft picks... unless they trade.”

“Oh,” Tobin chews on her lip. “I did not know this information.” Alex rolls her eyes. “Where are the new teams gonna be?”

Alex shakes her head. “I don’t know yet. Not Houston though.”

“Okay.” Tobin smiles. “We’ll still make it work regardless.”

“I know.” Alex looks up over the screen as the door of their room opens. “Hey Kae.”

“Ohai,” Tobin calls out.

Kealia’s face appears from the side. “Hey Heath. What’s up?”

“Just congratulating Alex on the win though I guess since you scored I should be congratulating you.”

Kealia smiles. “Why thank you. Did you and JJ have a fun time watching together?”

“Yep. You have a new roommate now,” Tobin smiles. “Just so you’re not surprised when you get home.”

“When I’m not there that’s fine. He doesn’t like to be alone but when I get back I’m kicking you out.”

Tobin pouts. “JJ,” she shouts.

“Seriously, you’re there now?” Kealia asks, noticing the bed Tobin is in is the one in her guest room.

“Of course. I told you I moved in. JJ got me my own robe and everything.” The two soccer players hear something and Tobin looks up with a grin. “Kea said she was gonna kick me out when she gets home.”

“Just give it a week, then you can move back in. We’ll say a pipe burst at your place or something”

“Justin,” Kealia scolds.

“Why didn’t you tell me she could hear me?” A large hand becomes visible as it pushes Tobin. “Hey babe.” He leans down with a big smile. “I love you.”

Kealia shakes her head. “You’re lucky I love you too.”

He grins. “I know. When is your flight?”

“Tomorrow. I don’t know when.” 

JJ looks at Tobin for a second then turns back to the screen, looking at Alex. “Can I steal her or do you guys need to talk.”

Alex shrugs. “I can talk to her later.”

Tobin looks at her teammate confused as he reaches over and ends the call with a smile and a quick ‘bye’.

~~~

“Dude, we should fly private everywhere,” Tobin sighs.

JJ laughs as they climb into the car, “We do. Could you imagine if I had to sit in a regular seat. You’d need the jaws of life to get me out.”

Tobin shakes her head, putting her bag between her legs. “No I mean like everywhere, to the store, practice, that kind of everywhere.”

“Well if we’re gonna do that we might as well just buy a drone for you so you don’t even have to kick. You can just stay on the bench and it will fly to wherever you want the ball to go.”

Tobin grins and nods. “Perfect.”

They continue joking around as they are driven to Toyota Stadium. They get out, thank the driver, then begin the walk towards the gate. They both get stopped many times for pictures and autographs before they can make it to their special section of seats, separated from the rest of the fans by a guardrail and a few raised feet. They both sit down, putting their feet up and waiting for warm ups to begin.

Both football players are wearing their respective significant other’s jersey. “Did you check the line ups?” Tobin asks, stretching her legs.

JJ picks up his phone and starts searching, “They’re both starting.”

“Cool,” Tobin smiles as the announcer’s voice comes over the loudspeaker to announce the players starting to come out for warm ups

Some of the fans sitting directly below them recognize them and ask for pictures and autographs. Tobin even sees a few Texans jerseys around the crowd. She points them out to her teammate. “Who do you think has more?”

He laughs. “That’s hard. I think I’d go with you though but it’ll be close cause you’re still a rookie.”

Tobin shrugs, “We’ll see.”

“What are you gonna do, count them?”

Tobin shrugs, “Maybe I will...until the game starts anyways.” She starts looking around. “One. Two. Oh there’s one of yours… oh and mine -”

“And now, coming out for pregame warm up is  _ your  _ US Women’s National Team.” Tobin stands along with JJ and much of the stadium, clapping. She quickly finds Alex and claps a little more vigorously.

The players starts to warm up on the far end of the field. “I don’t think they know we’re here yet,” Tobin smiles as they both sit down.

“That’s kinda the point of the whole surprise thing,” JJ replies. 

“I figured if either of them checked their phones they would have seen us tagged in something.”

“Yeah but you know they’re not really looking there.”

Tobin shrugs, “You don’t know what I know.”

JJ points behind Tobin, “Oh I’m so winning. It’s a whole group with my jersey.”

Tobin turns quickly, counting the group. “Fine you’re winning, ten to four.”

The two get more competitive, trying to find their own jersey in the crowd of soccer fans. They even make a bet where the other has to wear an outfit chosen by the other on their next trip.

They give up on their game when the actual game starts, Rose starting it off with an early goal then Alex getting a late, controversial goal. Canada doesn’t score at all and the game ends with gold medals for the US team.

Tobin decides to head down towards the field before the ceremony and JJ follows after, having a harder time moving through the crowd. With a few people clearing out to get out of the rain, they are able to get close enough that JJ is easily seen over the heads of the much shorter fans. Tobin stands on the seats and is almost as tall as him. They look towards the field and see Emily somewhat close. “SONNETT,” Tobin shouts. The defender turns and looks up, expecting to see a fan but smirks when she sees Tobin and JJ. She waves then jumps down from the raised section of the team seats and jogs out to the field in search of Kealia and Alex.

Kealia comes over first and JJ politely pushes through some fans to get to the front. Tobin smiles, watching Emily spin Alex in circles a few times, then stopping her. Emily must have then told her because Alex immediately turns around in her direction and starts trying to jog. Two steps in Alex falls to her hands and knees, still dizzy from the spinning. A group of teammates behind her start laughing while Sam walks forward to help her stand. 

Once Sam gets her dizzy teammate to her feet she helps her walk over. Tobin pushes her way through the fans a few feet away from JJ, waiting for her fiance to reach her.


	5. 2019

“With the first pick in the first round of the 2019 NWSL college draft, the Orlando Pride select… Alex Morgan from the University of North Carolina.”

Tobin grits her teeth, already knowing this was going to be the outcome but still hoping it was going to somehow change.

“Houston Dash, you are now on the clock.”

Alex’s face comes up on the screen, as they play her pre recorded message from national team camp in France. Alex had found out officially yesterday where she was going and had called Tobin, a mix of emotions.

‘Of course it’s one of the places where there are no NFL teams,’ was her main complaint. ‘You’re barely going to be at any games.’

~~~

Tobin holds Alex tightly in her arms as they dance together, all eyes on them. “Any regrets?” she asks.

Alex shakes her head. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for years. I’ve known I was going to marry you since high school. I only wish our honeymoon could be longer.”

“I’m free for the next two months. You’re the one who has camp.”

Alex smiles and nods, pressing a kiss to her wife’s cheek. “You’ll just have to make the time we do have extra good.”

“It will be.”

“You gonna tell me where we’re going yet?”

Tobin smirks, “I guess I can since you’ll find out in a few hours.” Tobin pauses. “So you said you wanted to go to the Bahamas if I got my incentive.”

Alex smiles, “So the Bahamas?”

Tobin shakes her head, “You still have no imagination. I figured an island but I didn’t want to be bothered by anyone so I got us a private island.”

Alex grins. “Why’d you have me pack a bathing suit then?”

Tobin laughs. “There are activities that require other people I thought you might enjoy.”

“I expect to come back without tan lines.”

~~~

Tobin holds her phone above her face and waits for Alex to answer.

“Hey.”

“Please explain to me how I’m the one doing all the work at _your_ place,” Tobin asks, wiping sweat from her forehead.

“Because you love me and I’m in Philly,”

“Well, your bed came and it’s really comfy.” Tobin turns the phone slightly so Alex can see the mattress she’s laying on.

“Is it the same one you have?”

“Yep. I figured if I’m the one purchasing it then I get to choose which one you get.”

“Can you take me on a tour?”

“You’re gonna make me stand up?”

Alex laughs. “Babe please, I would like to see where I’ll be living in all season.”

“Okay but I’m just gonna show you the room for now so I don’t have to get up.” Tobin turns the phone so Alex can see the room. “So I bought you a dresser and I put in the corner near the closet.”

They keep talking, until Tobin hears noise coming from the apartment. “I think your roommates are back.”

“Did you meet them yet?”

“Yeah, how do you think I got into the apartment?”

“Stop being logical.”

There’s a knock and Tobin turns as the door opens. “Did you buy a couch?” CeCe asks.

“Uh, yeah. I figured you guys needed one from the pictures Alex had sent me and I was already at the store.”

“Sweet.” She notices the phone. “Hey Alex.”

~~~

Tobin sits in the teams’ friends and family box with a few Orlando City players, and the friends and family of the team. She watches her wife run around the field in her first professional game. She grips the railing in front of her each time she thinks Alex is about to score or even touch the ball. The game is still 0-0 in the 75th minute and Tobin just wants to see her score.

Alex will be busy with the national team as they prepare for the World Cup and won’t be able to play in many more games before they leave and Tobin needs to spend time in Houston, Los Angeles, and Portland for workouts, appearances, and sponsorships prior to the World Cup.

~~~

Tobin leans over the railing as Alex runs to her, happy tears streaming down her face. She jumps and grips the top of the railing. Tobin helps pull her up and soon Alex’s arms are wrapped tight around Tobin’s neck and Tobin holds Alex behind her back. They kiss because what else can you do when the woman you love has just won the World Cup.

Tobin eventually pulls back, “You’re so amazing. I love you.” She knows Alex can’t hear her over the thousands of fans celebrating around them but Alex smiles knowingly.

“I love you,” she replies against Tobin’s lips, kissing her again. After a minute, Tobin lets her drop back down and continues to cheer all the way through the trophy presentation.

The two finally get to see each other properly after Alex has showered and they head to the party for the team. They both drink a little too much as they dance and continue to celebrate into the early hours of the morning. Alex eventually pulls Tobin back to the hotel to celebrate alone.

Two hours later, Alex falls back into the pillows, panting while Tobin kisses up her body.  Tobin has been showing Alex just how proud of her she is repeatedly since they got to the room. Alex reaches for Tobin’s hand as it slowly moves down her body, stilling it’s progress.

Alex stares up at the ceiling through hooded eyes, shaking her head. “No more. I can’t. Too sensitive.”

Tobin smirks, lips gently pressed against Alex’s ear. “You just tasted so good.” Tobin pushes her hips down against Alex’s.

Alex moans and pulls Tobin’s lip towards her own, moaning again as she tastes herself on Tobin’s tongue. “Want to move this to the shower?” she asks after pulling away. “The water will feel good for me and I’m sure I can find something that will make you feel the same.”

Tobin bites her lip and quickly scurries out of bed. Alex watches her disappear into the bathroom and listens to the shower turn on. The soccer player slowly rolls out of bed and follows after wife.

Tobin stands in front of the glass door, naked, looking at her phone as she waits for the water to heat up. “How long do you need to get ready?”

Alex smirks as she steps closer, “Already ready babe.” Her hand pushes through Tobin’s legs.

Tobin smirks as Alex’s fingers start rubbing. “Not what I meant. I’m setting an alarm so you have time to get ready. I have six. Is that good?”

Alex pulls the phone out of Tobin’s hand and puts it down stepping into Tobin. “I want to hear you begging.” Tobin squeaks as Alex continues to rub her fingers. The soccer player smiles and pulls open the shower door. She steps back into the hot water and Tobin eagerly follows after her.

Less than a minute later, Tobin is pinned against the tile wall with her hands above her head and Alex’s lips attached to her neck.

~~~

**Alex Morgan going to Houston in blockbuster NWSL trade**

The finishing touches are being put together for the trade that will send World Cup Champion, Orlando Pride forward Alex Morgan to the Houston Dash. The trade is per Morgan’s request as her wife, NFL kicker Tobin Heath, plays for the Houston Texans. Heath and Morgan wed this past February in a small ceremony. Just a few weeks prior to the ceremony, in her first season with the team, Heath led the Texans to the AFC Championship where they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in a controversial game.

Alex Morgan was the first pick in the NWSL 2019 draft, a spot Orlando received for being the expansion team. She didn’t see a lot of playing time for the Pride as she spent most of the 2019 season with the USWNT as they prepared for, played in, and won the Women’s World Cup in France. The New Jersey native did score 8 goals and record 5 assists in her 10 games with the team.

In the trade, Houston will receive Morgan along with a third and fourth round pick in the 2020 NWSL draft. Orlando will receive Houston’s first round picks in both the 2020 and 2021 NWSL drafts, a second round pick in the 2020 NWSL draft, an international slot, and their allocation spot.

Morgan, 22, is one of the most prolific scorers in the league and the world. She scored three times in France, including once in the final to seal the win. She is also up for FIFA’s Women’s Player of the Year for her efforts not only in France and on the world stage but the NWSL as well. In just a few short years she has become one of the most recognizable faces in women’s soccer.

Houston, who has had losing seasons the past two years, will hopefully be reinvigorated by Morgan’s presence up top. Even though she will most likely be selected as part of the USA's Olympic team next summer Houston is hoping she will still have time to make an impact on the field.


	6. 2020

“Alex,” Tobin groans. “Why can’t we just wait until the season is over? Playoffs just started.”

Alex shakes her head as they pull past an open gate into a large driveway. “You got a first round bye and this house is perfect. I don’t want it to get sold.” Alex parks her Jeep behind their realtor’s car while Tobin looks up at the house. “It’s seven bedrooms, six and a half baths and well below our budget.”

Alex climbs out and waits for Tobin at the front of the car. She takes her wife’s hand and leads her towards the open garage. “Just come look at it. This is the only one today.” They walk past the Audi in the garage. “Okay so picture you just got home from practice and parked your car in here. You walk into the house.” Alex pushes the door open into the mudroom revealing five wooden locker cubbies lining the wall towards the doorway. “And you hang up a few tiny little jackets that were thrown haphazardly.” Alex leads Tobin through towards the large open kitchen. “You walk in and our kids look up from their lunch. They climb off of the stools as fast as they can, racing towards you shouting mommy.”

Tobin smiles and looks at the island, picturing what Alex is describing. Alex show Tobin around the house, painting a picture for Tobin in each room of the family they want. They stand on the balcony outside the master bedroom and look down at the backyard. “What do you think about getting a pool?”

“As long as there’s a hot tub attached I’m down.”

Tobin smiles and looks back in through the glass doors. “I don’t want to start any of the renovations until the season is over. We can find a contractor and stuff and they can make some plans but I want to be able to have a say in everything.”

Alex nods then jumps into Tobin’s arms, kissing her. “We can stay in the apartment until everything’s done if you want. You’re gonna be in charge of stuff once the olympics and everything start but hopefully it can be basically all planned out by then.”

“Well let’s go sign whatever then celebrate.”

As they walk through the house towards the living room where their realtor is waiting for them, Tobin squeezes Alex’s hand. “I’m kinda gonna miss the apartment.”

“I am too. It was our first place alone together.”

They start walking down the stairs. “Yeah. I also just have a lot of memories from my first two seasons. A lot of stuff happened. All my major deals were signed there. It was where I had to become an adult.”

Alex snickers, “I don’t know if I’d call you an adult babe.”

“Well you married me and want to have kids with me so…”

Alex rolls her eyes as they walk into the living room. “So we both love it.”

~~~

Tobin sits in the stadium next to Alex’s parents and sisters. They all wear the white number 13 jersey as they wait for the US’s second game of the Tokyo Olympics to start. The US had won their first game a few days before. This was the last game Tobin would be able to watch in person. She was already going to be a day late to camp just for staying to watch this game. Luckily her coaches had reluctantly agreed as long as she came in knowing the play book.

Tobin stands as the two national anthems are played. The game stays exciting, going back and forth with diving efforts to save the numerous shots. The second half is about to begin, the game still scoreless. Alex stands in her spot over the ball waiting for the whistle. When it blows she passes it back to Rose then starts to run towards the goal. She sees space open to her right and runs towards it. 

Alex glances over her shoulder as Rose sends the ball up the field. Alex watches Sam move so she’s under it, then watches her jump, getting her head on the ball and sending it just in front of Alex who is jogging towards the box. She lets it bounce once then kicks it into the far side netting. 

The keeper doesn’t have a chance and just turns to watch it go in. Alex runs towards Sam and about half the stadium jumps to their feet. Tobin yells loudly for her wife.The game ends with the lone goal being the game winner. 

After the game, Tobin and Alex’s family get clearance to enter the team’s hotel. Alex smiles as soon as she sees them and jogs over. She saves Tobin for last but spends the most time in her wife’s arms.

“You were amazing,” Tobin breathes into her ear, holding her tightly. She pulls back enough so their lips can meet. Knowing their family is watching, they keep it short. They pull apart and begin their walk to the conference room for the post game family dinner. Tobin is greeted by most of the team, having become close with many of them over the years thanks to Alex. They all give her hugs as she tells them good luck in their upcoming games which she will be watching from West Virginia. When she finally sits down next to Alex the forward slides closer to her. “You know you’re married to me right?”

Tobin smiles and nods. “I don’t know when I’m going to see most of them next. I know I’m going to see you when you get home.”

Alex reaches over and grabs her hand. “Yeah maybe if you’re not away.”

“Just eat your dinner then let’s take a walk okay. I don’t get to travel the world every few months like you do.” Tobin takes a sip of her water.

“I bring you presents.”

Tobin scoffs, almost spitting out her water. “Yes cause the little dragon thing you got me from China was the exact same as me being there.”

Alex shrugs and smiles. “We can travel once we retire.”

Even though the rest of her family is having their own conversation it is still easy to hear what they’re saying so she leans in close and whispers, “What about the kids?”

“They can come too, but we kinda need to get them first,” Tobin whispers back. “We’re still not sure if that’s possible while we’re both playing.”

Alex smiles, “We’ll be good.” She presses a kiss to Tobin’s cheek then turns to her parents who are telling a story.

~~~

Tobin runs to the door and quickly opens it, already running late for practice. A woman in a business suit stands on the opposite side a clipboard in her hand. “Hi. Is this the Morgan Heath residence? Are you Tobin or Alexandra?”

Tobin looks at her for a second, not sure who she is before nodding. “Yes. I’m Tobin.”

The woman sticks out her hand. “My name is Victoria Gutierrez. I work with the Houston Adoption Agency.” 

Tobin quickly takes the woman’s hand and shakes it. “It’s nice to meet you. My wife’s actually away right now... at the Olympics.”

“That’s okay. I only need one of the prospective parents to complete this home visit. Do you mind if I come in?”

Tobin steps back quickly, letting her enter. “Not at all but do you mind if I call my coach? I was just about to leave for practice. I need to let him know I’m going to be a little late.”

“Of course,” Victoria says. “This should only take about half an hour. This visit is just to make sure everything still seems okay, hence the surprise.” Tobin nods and pulls her phone out of her pocket to make the call.

After showing the woman around her house, Tobin walks her to the door. “Do you have any idea about how long this process could take now that this is completed?”

“Well I can’t tell you my findings but if this final home visit deems you and your wife acceptable parents, it could happen at any time. It will take about two weeks for the paperwork to go through, but after that it’s a waiting game.” She glances at her clipboard. “I see you are willing to adopt our harder to place children as well.”

Tobin nods quickly, “Yeah. The birth mother’s history or their skin color isn’t going to stop us from loving them and we also don’t want to separate siblings .”

Victoria smiles at Tobin’s answer. “That should decrease the time it takes for you but it still could be some time.”

Tobin picks up her gym bag from next to the door and they walk out together.

~~~

Tobin waits anxiously in her hotel bed, staring at her computer screen while Alex talks in a baby voice off camera. Alex had already sent her an exorbitant amount of pictures of the one year old girl but now, as Alex walks back into frame with the sleeping baby in her arms, Tobin gets her first real live glimpse.

Tears start forming in her eyes for at least the fourth time that day. The first being on the bus to the airport when Alex had called her to say she had just got the call. Alex had somehow convinced her to get on the plane instead of calling for a car. The second was on the plane to Indianapolis, Alex had sent her a few pictures of the girl, still at the adoption agency along with the short message of  _ Meet our daughter, Sophia. _

Tobin then got more photos while on the way to the hotel of Alex holding the girl. She didn’t even care that her teammates could see her wiping away tears. They didn’t know yet that Tobin was now a mom or that she was even trying to adopt but they would soon. First she wanted to tell her family, then the team would know.

“Hi Sophia,” Tobin quietly gets out, not wanting to wake her. “She’s beautiful,” Tobin sighs, reaching out to touch the screen.

“She really is,” Alex agrees, kissing the top of her head. “And she’s so good. She’s barely cried.” Alex rocks her gently and sits back down. “I really wish you were here.”

“I do too. I shouldn’t have let you talk me into getting on the plane.”

“You have to play tomorrow. You guys need this win.”

Tobin sighs and stares at the sleeping child. She nods once then looks at Alex. “Okay so you ready to tell the grandparents?”

Alex nods and adjusts the camera so Sophia is not visible while Tobin begins to set up the three way call. Tobin smiles when her dad accepts the call. He leans back and she can see both sets of parents sitting in the Heath family’s living room. 

They do a quick greeting before Tobin starts her introduction. “So something happened this morning and we want to tell you but you all need to first promise us that you will stay quiet.”

There are a few confused looks and questions but they eventually all agree. “So,” Tobin continues, “as you know, we’ve been going through the adoption process waiting to get the call.” Tobin can already tell they know what’s about to come. “Please remember to be quiet,” she repeats. “So we got the call today and nothing is legal yet but… y’all are grandparents.” Their moms hug and then both dads join in on the hug. They stay mostly quiet though. “I want you guys to meet Sophia,” Alex tilts the camera back to its original position, “our daughter.”

~~~

Tobin smiles as she steps out of her coach’s embrace. “Do you want to tell the team?” he asks, knowing it will pump them up. 

She nods and then heads to the treatment room to get her wrist taped. She grabs a Sharpie and very carefully writes Sophia on the tape before heading out for warm ups.

Once most of the guys are dressed and ready Tobin stands up and gets everyone’s attention. “So I know you guys thought I was acting a little strange yesterday and this morning and I told you it was nothing but I was lying. It’s taking a lot for me to be here right now with you guys because right now something big is going on for my familiy.” Tobin looks around at everyone’s faces, she can tell they all think something is seriously wrong. “So I just wanted to let you guys know that we better go out their and fucking win because I now have a daughter watchin-”

The room erupts and soon, Tobin is lifted from the chair she’s standing on and is hoisted up onto JJ’s shoulders as they celebrate. Bill lets this go on for a minute before he reminds them all of the game they need to go play.

The huge adrenaline rush shows as they score three touchdowns in the first quarter, one off of an interception. The final score is 55 to 13. Bill finds her almost immediately after the final whistle, pulling her into a hug. “I’m going to see to it that you get a kid before every important game.”

Tobin laughs and shakes her head, “I need some time with just one first.” Tobin looks around at her teammates, “Spread the love.”

He laughs and shakes his head back, “I wouldn’t trust some of these guys with a gold fish.” Before they can say anything further they are both drenched in Gatorade. Tobin continues to smile as she starts to jog towards the locker room. She’s almost at the tunnel when she gets stopped for an interview. 

Without having time to object, the first question is asked and a microphone is pushed into her face. “That was quite an amazing game for you and your teammates. Three field goals and six extra points. What gave your team the edge?”

“We got some pretty exciting news before the game.” Tobin smiles for a second before remembering she has to go. “I’m sorry. I need to go. I have a flight to catch.” She then jogs around the camera man and everyone else to quickly get herself ready. She glances at the clock, thankful she has enough time to at least wash the sweat and Gatorade off before she has to leave. She watches a video Alex had sent her of Sophia screaming loudly.  **She’s been like this for 3 hours**

Four hours later Tobin turns her phone back on, finally on the ground and messages start coming in right away. She ignores all of them, going to Alex’s and watching the video Alex had taken of Sophia in an adult sized Texans jersey clapping at the screen.  **About the only five minutes she hasn’t screamed all day**

Once they pull up to the gate Tobin is the first one off, having sweet talked the few people in front of her and only having a carry on. She runs through the airport to the car Alex had ordered for her and climbs in with her suitcase on her lap.The driver makes quick work of the late night Sunday roads and it only takes forty minutes before he’s pulling up to their driveway.

After already being warned through text that Sophia is thankfully sleeping, Tobin carefully closes the car door and turns towards her house. The front door is open with Alex standing in the frame. Tobin leans up to give her a kiss before stepping over the threshold. 

“Where is she?” Tobin asks.

“Our bed. The crib comes tomorrow.” Tobin sets her bag down and slowly starts walking to the stairs.

“Surprised you didn’t do same day.”

“I was going to but I didn’t trust the only place I could find that did it on a Sunday. It seemed sketchy and I was worried about having people in the house with her alone.”

Tobin stops outside her bedroom door. She scared to open it. This is the moment it all becomes real, going from an image on a screen to a physical human being that she’s responsible for. Alex places a comforting hand on her back and reaches around. The door opens and Tobin sees a small lump in the middle of their king sized bed surrounded by pillows to keep her from falling out.

~~~

Tobin stands in the kitchen, mashing the pot of potatoes and looks down at the baby monitor next to her with a smile. Two arms slide around her waist and a kiss is pressed against her cheek.

“How’s it coming?” Alex looks down at the pot.

“Almost done mashing,” Tobin replies. “How’s everything else?”

“It’s going.” 

“Do you think we should wake her up soon?” Tobin asks looking back down at the monitor.

Alex shakes her head glancing at their living room in front of them, “No. She’s had an active day. She needs the sleep.”

“Yeah but I want to sleep tonight meaning if she sleeps a lot now she’ll wake up at three then I’ll wake up at three and get no sleep...again.”

Alex slides her hand into Tobin’s back pocket. “If I promise to get up with her can we let her sleep.” 

Tobin looks up at Alex. “Why did you change into heels? Everyone else’s in sweats.”

“You don’t like them?” Alex purrs softly. “You normally like it when I wear heels…”

“Hey,” Jeffrey calls from the living room. “Stop making out and finish my dinner.”

Tobin rolls her eyes and is about to flip him off when she sees the eyes of her three nephews all looking back at her. 

“It’ll be ready in about an hour,” Alex responds as she steps back to finish the rest of their Christmas dinner. “You could finish setting the table though, J.” Her brother in law groans but stands up and walks away towards the dining room.

Once dinner is ready, Tobin walks upstairs to Sophia’s bedroom and carefully lifts her out of her crib. She walks to the table where her family has gathered for dinner and sees Alex has filled a plate of peas, mashed potatoes, and cut up turkey.

“My favorite,” Tobin jokes as she looks around. “Pass the adult turkey.” Once the food is all passed around, the chatter picks up, and Sophia is fully awake. Tobin switches from feeding herself to feeding her daughter. Alex smiles, watching her two favorite people interact. 

Tobin looks up when she feels the stare. She tilts her head confused and Alex smiles back. Tobin points at Alex and leans down to their daughter’s ear, whispering something that makes the girl laugh. 

“I don’t know what you two are up to but make sure she eats her peas,” Alex demands. 

“Yes mom,” Tobin sasses, scooping up one pea on the hard plastic spoon and pushing it towards Sophia’s mouth.


	7. 2021

Alex sits in her seat in Indianapolis with Sophia standing on her lap. They both are wearing an excessive amount of layers to combat the blistering cold January afternoon. Alex looks down at her daughter to make sure the noise cancelling headphones are still in place over the child sized Texans winter hat. Alex didn’t often travel to away games but she didn’t want to miss the last game of the regular season or at least being able to see her wife on New Year’s Day even if they couldn’t bring it in together because of team curfew. Alex continues to make sure almost every bit of Sophia is covered as she babbles and points. Alex is thankful that there have been no tantrums or crying episodes since they had arrived at the field. 

Once the game is over, Alex walks down to the edge of the field where some fans have started to crowd around. Alex waits for Tobin to walk over, first holding out a fist for Tobin to bump then handing down their daughter.

“Hey Phi,” Tobin smiles as she holds her close. Sophia smiles and starts hitting Tobin’s shoulder pads while laughing. Tobin rolls her eyes, unsurprised as she walks away from the stands. The social media person finds them quickly and Tobin tries to get her daughter’s attention but she is now squirming, trying to get out of Tobin’s arms.

Tobin sets her down and slowly follows behind as she runs as fast as she can towards the field. Tobin slowly walks behind her, ready to pick her up in case she falls and making sure no one bumps into her. The child turns her head and smiles, thinking Tobin is chasing her. Tobin keeps one eye on her daughter and the other on her teammates and media. 

A few of her teammates come over to play with her, Deshaun putting his helmet on her head and getting a high five. Tobin plays with her and takes a few pictures before handing her back up to Alex and moving towards the locker room to shower and change.

~~~

Tobin stands in the refreshingly cool water with her arms out and looks up at Sophia who is eyeing her skeptically from a few feet away, a pink floaty on each arm. They still hadn’t been able to get Sophia willingly into the pool now that it was finished along with the rest of the house. This was day seven of trying to get her into the pool. They had tried walking her in while holding her at the beginning but she started screaming bloody murder and they quickly got her out.

“Come on, Phi,” Tobin pleads. “I’ll catch you.” Tobin pats the water, “It’s like a big bathtub.” Tobin looks at all the floaties they had bought for her, expecting her to love the pool. She sighs and grabs onto the side and hops out. She sits down with her legs in the water and looks over to where Sophia is standing a few feet away. “What if you just come sit with me?” Tobin pats the spot next to her. 

It takes twenty minutes to coax her to sit along the edge of the pool and put just a toe in the water. Tobin isn’t sure how long it is after that, but eventually she gets her onto the first step, comfortable because she can stand, hold onto the railing, and run out if Tobin gets too close.

Alex comes home from practice to find Tobin trying to move Sophia from the second step into her arms. “I won’t let you go. You can hold onto me the whole time.”

Alex watches from doorway so as not to alert either of them to her presence. Tobin sighs, “Soph, I promise, I got you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Alex pulls her phone out and takes a video as the young girl reaches one arm out tentatively and takes Tobin’s hand. Tobin slowly pulls her into the water and into her arms. She smiles and spins them around. She catches Alex watching them and stops spinning, the smile on her face is huge. Alex gives her a thumbs up while walking out and Tobin tries to detach Sophia’s arms from around her neck so she can turn and see her other mom.

“You got her in,” Alex smiles.

Tobin nods, “Care to join us?”

“Let me just change. Did you guys eat lunch yet?”

“Not yet. We’ve been at this for over an hour and just got here.”

“Why don’t you guys dry off, we’ll do lunch, then try to get her back in.” Tobin walks towards the steps to Alex. She gives her a quick kiss then lets Sophia give her mom a wet hug. “I’m so proud of you Phi,” Alex coos as she takes her. “You got into the pool with mommy.” Alex gives her a few kisses and tickles her tummy before handing her back over to Tobin. 

~~~

Tobin leans against the doorway watching Sophia sleep in her big girl bed for the first time. Alex walks up behind her, wraps her arms around her waist, and rests her chin on Tobin’s shoulder. “Finally got her to sleep?” Alex asks softly.

“Yeah.” Tobin looks around the girls room and looks at the windows on the far wall. “We need to nail those windows shut.”

“What why?”

“Well…,” Tobin leans in and pulls the door mostly closed, then leads Alex to their room. “We got into plenty of trouble because I could climb out my window.”

Alex smirks and turns on the baby monitor. “I mean we never actually got into trouble.” The two start getting ready for bed.

“Yeah, cause our parents never found out. We did a lot of shit because I could sneak out of my window.”

“She’s one Tobs. I think we have a little time before she’s sneaking out her window to go hook up with someone.”

“Don’t say that. She’s waiting until college.”

“Oh like us?” Alex asks sarcastically.

“We were different… and lucky that my mom believed I was sleeping at Dom’s.”

“I still feel like she knew. I mean they had to have known my parents were gone all weekend. I think she knew it was going to happen one way or another but she didn’t want us doing it in your car or something.”

“Hey, don’t mock that. We had a lot of fun in the Jeep.”

“I don’t think you remember quite how uncomfortable trying to do anything in there was. It was convenient at best.” 

“I do miss being able to be spontaneous. Remember after my freshman year when you took me to like the middle of nowhere, we hiked for like an hour.”

“Yeah and you kept thinking we were lost.”

“We were lost.”

“We were on a trail.”

“Barely.”

“Did we not get to the lake?”

“That lake was nice. It was nice out. I got a good tan.”

“I kinda preferred what happened in the lake.”

“Yeah. That was pretty hot too.” 

Tobin smirks and stops pulling up her sleeping shorts. “I can still be spontaneous.” She walks over to Alex’s side of the closet and pulls her in for a deep kiss. After a minute, Tobin pulls back to breathe. 

Alex grins and turns back to brushing out her hair. “Not exactly the same babe.”

“I wasn’t done. Come on.” Tobin walks out of the closet and grabs the baby monitor from the bedside table before walking out of the room. She makes sure Alex is following as she heads down the stairs in only a UNC shirt and underwear. She stops in front of the glass sliding doors and turns to Alex. “You want some wine?”

“Tobin, what are we doing?”

Tobin hands the baby monitor over, opens the door for Alex, then heads to the small bar in their living room. Alex sits down at their wooden table looking up at the night sky, only a few stars visible. Tobin comes out a few minutes later with two glasses one in each hand. The shirt Tobin was wearing is gone, replaced by a large yellow towel wrapped around her torso and another around her neck. She walks past Alex to the raised hot tub at the far end of the pool.

Tobin sets the wine glasses down then drops the towels, exposing herself, before stepping in and turning to Alex. “Care to join me?” she calls out.

“Fuck yes,” Alex mutters as she follows after her wife, leaving a pile of clothes on the edge of the water before climbing in. Tobin hands her a glass which they both take a sip of before setting them to the side to be forgotten. Tobin leans into Alex, while her hand goes immediately between her legs. Alex chuckles, “No foreplay?”

“We haven’t had sex in a month.”

Alex tilts her head back as Tobin’s fingers rub against her. “We both got off last week,” Alex sighs. 

Tobin moves her lips up from Alex’s neck to her ear. “Phone sex doesn’t count. We were on a time crunch before your roommate came back or Sophia waking up. Now shut up and let me do to you what I should do every night after we put her to bed.”

Alex is about to reply with a witty comment when Tobin pushes a finger inside. “Fuck.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do.” Alex’s hips start lifting rhythmically, the water making little waves over her chest. 

After a few rounds each, they lean into each other exhausted. “That spontaneous enough for you?”

Alex nods, “Next time though we should bring a cushion over so I can lay you on it.” Alex runs her hand up Tobin’s thigh. “I can’t hold my breath long enough for what I really wanted to do to you.”

Tobin grins and points with her thumb over her shoulder. “I can go get one now if you want.”

~~~

**5 Year Contract Extension for Tobin Heath**

Tobin Heath, has become a household name as she has paved the way for women in the NFL and is one of the most consistent kickers in the league. She’s still alone but it might not be long because there has been a rise of girls playing all positions, not just kicker, in the almost four years since she was drafted. Heath started her football career in New Jersey on her high school field after switching over from soccer. From there she went on to become a standout in DI football at the University of North Carolina. After her four years there, she declared for the draft which many criticized her for and thought no team would ever pick her. 

In the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans called her name and the rest has been history. She has not missed one game in her 3.5 seasons with the Texans, starting every game. The last two years she has been named to the Pro Bowl team. She has lead the Texans to the playoffs all three years and to the AFC championship twice.

Heath’s contract, which was set to expire at the end of this season, was just extended 5 years, lasting until the 2026 season. It was announced earlier today that the Texans place kicker agreed to the terms of the five year extension worth over $21 million with $11 million guaranteed. Increasing over tenfold from when she was drafted, Heath’s re-signing bonus is reportedly $5 million. 

This new contract, along with her sponsorships from brands such as Nike, Beats, and Gatorade, to name a few, have made her the highest paid female athlete across all sports.

Neither Heath, her agent, or the Texans front office returned calls to comment on this article.

~~~

Alex leans over to Tobin as she picks up her menu, “Happy anniversary baby.” Tobin grins back. “I put a little present for you in your pocket.”

Tobin turns in her chair and reaches into the pocket of her light jacket. Her hand closes around something and she pulls it out. She quickly realizes what it is and balls it up into a fist while glaring at Alex. “What are you trying to do?”

Alex shrugs, not looking up from the menu. “Don’t worry. They’re clean. Those are the ones I was going to wear before deciding against it.” 

A bottle of wine later, most going to Alex, the two climb into Tobin’s car and start their drive home. Alex pushes her feet down and lifts her short dress even higher. She reclines the seat and spreads her legs. Tobin glances over but quickly refocuses on the road. Alex groans then reaches over for Tobin’s free hand, putting it between her legs and guiding the fingers through the motions. 

Alex moans as Tobin takes over and slips her hand lower to push two fingers inside herself. It doesn’t take long for Alex’s hips to be straining against her seat belt with both Tobin’s fingers and her own getting her off. Once she’s done she sits back up and takes Tobin’s hand, slowly sucking on each finger while the footballer tries to keep her focus on the road.

When the arrive at home, Alex takes Tobin’s hand and pulls her in quickly. Tobin grins at her wife’s inability to walk in a straight line, almost tripping over the tile in her tall heels. “Lex, where are we going?” she asks as Alex leads her in the opposite direction of the staircase that leads towards their bedroom. Alex pushes open the door to their home theater and turns on the dim lights. “You wanna watch a movie?” Tobin asks confused

Alex nods her head once and falls back on the reclinable loveseat they have in the middle of the room. She reaches over and presses a few buttons on the remote to start the movie that was already in the DVD player. Alex spreads her legs, revealing how wet she is. 

“Fuck,” Tobin groans as she moves closer, shedding her clothes as she does. Tobin moves to her knees in front of Alex, already licking her lips but Alex shakes her head.

“I got what I needed in the car, the rest of the night is about you.” Alex points to a crate in the corner that Tobin hadn’t noticed. “I brought all our toys down if you want any of them but I know how much you love sitting on my face so I figured we could start there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anything?


	8. 2022

Tobin sits on a small bench watching Sophia stare intently through the glass at the hippo just sitting under the water. Neither had moved for five minutes. Tobin pulls out her phone and sends a picture to Alex.

**Queen Wifey: She hasn’t moved in five minutes**

**Lex: Are you at the zoo? What animal is that?**

**Queen Wifey: Yeah. There’s a hippo named Ron just chilling**

**Queen Wifey: I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get her to leave**

**Lex: Enjoy the break while you can. Send me more pictures. It’s pouring here, not sure if we’re even going to be able to play but for now we’re stuck inside**

Tobin takes a quick selfie and sends it over.

**Queen Wifey: There ya go**

**Lex: Cute**

~~~

Tobin sits on the living room couch next to Alex. Tobin glances at the four cameras around them then at the interviewer. “So what made you want to try football? I doubt there was a high demand for female players.”

“I moved prior to my freshman year of high school. I had played soccer before that and I had a bad experience. When I moved I wanted to play something but had no desire to interact with another group of catty girl.” Tobin turns and smirks at Alex.

“You loved my teammates.”

“I put up with them.”

“So should I tell Ash not to come visit next month.”

Tobin shakes her head in smiles. “Okay, fine, your teammates were nice once I got to know them but if I had done soccer instead of football do you we would have ended up together?”

“Maybe it would have happened sooner.”

“You weren’t ready for me when we first met, honestly I wasn’t ready to be out until junior year.” Tobin remembers the question they were supposed to be answering. “Sorry. Football.” She takes Alex’s hand then finishes her answer. “Football kinda sucked at first to be honest but I wanted to get through a season. I was on the freshman team at first and that wasn’t bad. It was mostly just awkward cause they didn’t know how to act around a girl. When I got moved up it became a death wish. I think I got hit more that season then I have in the past four.”

Alex glances at the scar on Tobin’s arm where she had to get eleven stitches when a tackler got through and she got cleated two years ago. She reaches out to rub it, “Yeah but now the injuries can be a lot worse.”

“Okay, next question. You adopted your daughter Sophia about a year and a half ago.”

~~~

Alex tickles Sophia’s belly, causing the toddler to giggle. “What happened in here?” Tobin’s voice comes through the elaborate pillow fort Alex had constructed, mostly out of sheer boredom.

“We’re in our castle. Want to come join us?”

Alex can sense Tobin’s hesitation. “Is there a back door or something?”

“It’s not the bad. Crawl through the opening and go to the left. Don’t go to the right. There’s a scary monster.” Alex looks down at Sophia and tickles her again. “Mommy’s gonna come join us.”

Tobin appears and looks around the ‘room’ Alex had constructed. “It’s only been a few hours.”

“I tied the sheet to the balcony. The rest was easy.”

“Got a little carried away there.”

“She was sleeping.”

Tobin walks over and sits down, Sophia crawling into her lap and giving her a hug. Tobin kisses her cheek. “Did mama build you a castle?”

They hang out for a while, playing with the toys Alex had for them until they realize Sophia needs her diaper changed.

“How was the walkthrough?” Alex asks as she walks with Tobin upstairs.

“Good. They’ve been having a sh-bad season so far. We’re probably gonna try a few trick plays and stuff to practice if we have a big enough lead.”

“You excited to go see mommy play tomorrow Phi? You’ll get to wear your mommy jersey.”

Sophia continues playing with Alex’s necklace as they walk into the girls room. Tobin grabs the new diaper and wipes and stands next to Alex. “Well I am.” Alex smiles at Tobin and presses a kiss to her cheek. “Oh and I invited Kea and JJ over for dinner after the game. I figured we could just grill something.

~~~

“What do you mean no? She’s my daughter too.”

“You haven’t wanted to bring her with you before. My season’s over I’ll be home with her.”

“Yes I have. It just didn’t make sense so I never brought it up. At first we were still trying to get used to just parenting her then last year I didn’t have a plan for looking after her when I was playing.”

“I don’t want her going on trips with you. You’re there for like two days and you’ll never have time for her when you’re there. You go do a walkthrough on the field, have meetings, then the next day you’re busy basically the whole day with the game and stuff.”

“I want her to experience this with me. You have all these memories of taking her places and I’ve never gotten to do that.”

“What’s she going to experience or remember? Your hotel room?”

“You take her with you to like half your games and all your national team stuff. How is this any different?”

“I had more down time and when I wasn’t with her she had sitters that I trusted.”

“And you think the team won’t get a good sitter for her. Literally part of my contract that they hire someone with a degree and experience. Bill would put a baby bjorn on if necessary.”

“She’d be around a bunch of guys. All they do is curse. I don’t want her learning that kind of language. She’s picking up everything we say and do right now.”

“Yeah. She’s two.They can be on their best behavior when she’s with me. She won’t pick up anything if we don’t make a big deal out of it. And some of your teammates curse worse than mine.”

Alex puts her hands on her hips. “Yeah but when she’s with my teammates she surrounded by strong, powerful women, not a bunch of horny, juvenile men that I don’t want her hanging around with when she’s older.”

Tobin blinks at her wife, “Seriously?”

“Yeah. A lot of them check me out when you’re not looking and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if any of them tried something given the chance. It’s not all of them. Being on the field with you is one thing but traveling, and eating and everything is too much. I don’t want our daughter subjected to that kind of environment for that long.”

Tobin turns around and scoffs, heading for the stairs. Alex smirks, thinking she’s won and heads to the kitchen to start making lunch. She hears Tobin coming down a few minutes later, heavy footsteps on the stairs. She goes to tell her to keep it down so she doesn’t wake Sophia but stops when she sees the suitcase in her hands.

“Where are you going?”

“JJ’s. Just tell Soph I’m at a game. I’ll come by Monday after practice to see her.”

“Why?”

“You obviously think very little of me. I’m a horrible influence and am an incapable mother that can’t take care of our daughter.”

“I never said that. I trust you. I said I didn’t trust your teammates.”

“Yeah some of them might not be the greatest of guys but if you think I would let anything happen to her than you don’t know me. Most of the guys love her and feel the same way.”

“I know you would try but it’s not something you can always help.”

“You said when she’s with you she’s around a bunch of strong women.” Alex nods. “Well when she’s with me I want her to see that I’m the only woman in a male only sport. I didn’t let my gender stop me. I’m not only in it but I’m kicking ass at it. When she’s with me she sees the same things that she does with you, the only difference is it’s me.” With those final words, Tobin walks out the door to her Jeep with Alex watching her from the doorway.

~~~

Alex sits down in the large office chair and stares at her computer screen. She had one chapter left to write but each time she started trying to write either an apology or hate filled letter towards Tobin came out, nothing to do with the middle school children in her book.

She glances at the clock, knowing Tobin’s practice should be ending soon. She sits backs and starts to wonder what’s going to happen when she sees her wife again. She hadn’t seen her in person in three days, partially because of the game in Minnesota but mostly because Tobin was sleeping in JJ and Kealia’s guest bedroom. Tobin would probably come around after practice because of Sophia, but she wasn’t sure if she was staying. The two enjoyed their after practice naps together, it’s always a struggle to get Sophia down when Tobin’s away or Sophia was with Alex for games or camps. It made Alex miss Tobin that much more when she had tried to put Sophia down these past few days.

The house phone rings and Alex quickly stands to answer it, glancing towards the living room where Sophia is watching some show with cartoon animals. She picks up the phone, “Hello… yes this is she.”

Alex listens as the voice on the other end speaks to her. As soon as she hangs up, Alex quickly runs upstairs to pack a small bag for Sophia and gather everything she needs.

~~~

The phone rings and Alex’s sees Tobin’s name on the screen. She stands and accepts the call, moving slightly away from where Sophia is playing with some toys but keeping an eye on her.

“Tobs,” Alex says.

“Where are you?” Tobin nearly growls. “We might be fighting but you can’t hide her from me. She is still _my_ daughter.”

“No, Tobin, that’s not it at all. We got another call. I was going to call you after I met with the social worker. They didn’t tell me any-”

“Where are you?”

“The main office, but wait are you at home?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you grab the spare car seat. I don’t know if we’re going to need it which is why I was gonna wait to call you but just bring it in case and anything else you think we might need. It’s siblings.”

“Two?”

“Yeah, a brother and sister.”

“Okay. I’ll be there in like half an hour. Call me if you find out anything new.”

“Of course. Wait, Tobin.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said she can’t come on trips with you. We can talk about it more later but I want you to know I really am sorry.”

“Okay,” Tobin replies. The line clicks dead.

Alex pulls the phone away from her ear and shakes her head. She understands Tobin’s right to be mad but they couldn’t be fighting when they were about to bring two scared children into their home.

~~~

Tobin walks out of the meeting with Sophia on her hip. She turns to Alex behind her. “Can we talk? We need to clear the air before we get them.”

Alex looks at Sophia who is quietly snoring, then nods and motions to the seating area. They sit in the corner, their knees touch slightly. Alex reaches out and places a hand on Tobin’s leg. “I’m so sorry.”

“You said that already.”

“Yeah. I did but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. I really am sorry baby. You’re a great mother to her and you will be to all of our kids. We’re lucky to  have you.”

“I just want her to be proud of me.”

“Oh, Tobs,” Alex reaches up to cup Tobin’s cheek. “She is proud of you. When you’re away she asks to watch you on tv all day. She hates it when you’re not on the screen. I sometimes pull up youtube clips of you kicking just to appease her while we wait for you to come out.

“She loves you so much. When we’re at games she only wants to know where you are. The game could be a blow out but as long as she can see mommy she’s happy. She’s so proud of you Tobin.”

Tobin holds the girl in her arms a little tighter as Alex talks. “So why can’t she come with me?”

“She can. I thought about it more and I changed my mind. You’ll protect her and she’ll love having some alone time with you. I just want to take it slow though. I know it’s in your contract but I still don’t trust the team fully yet. The next away game is Philly. I was thinking you could take her and have the sitter but we could also have our parents there as a backup.”

“I don’t know how that’s gonna work anymore.”

“Maybe but also might be good for her to get a little alone time if adding two siblings doesn’t go over well at first.”

~~~

Tobin falls into bed. “He’s finally asleep.”

“Did you check on the girls?”

“Soph was fast asleep and Charina seemed okay. She had her elephant. I turned on the night light for her.”

Alex snuggles into her wife’s side. “It’s kinda nice having the rooms filled.”

“That’s why we got such a big house,” Tobin says. “Fill it with as many kids as we can.”

They lay silently for a few minutes. “I think I’m gonna call out the next two days. I’ll do my workouts in the morning before they wake up. I can skype into the meetings if need be but I just need to kick and know the snap counts.”

“You don’t have to. I was gonna ask Kea to come over and help. Maybe Charina likes soccer and we can play.”

“Getting her to speak first would be nice.”

“She’s quiet and nervous. She’ll talk eventually. I remember one girl I met a long time ago that was really quiet until I got to know her. Then I couldn’t get her to shut up.”

“No need to bring Kelley into this.”

“You’re funny if you think Kelley was ever anything but a chatterbox.”

“I love you,” Tobin sighs. “And I missed sleeping next to you these past few night.”

“It felt different,” Alex agrees. “Like normally when were separated it’s not willingly and I know I can call you to hear your voice.”

“You could have called. I would have picked up.”

“I wasn’t ready to apologize yet. I knew I needed to but I didn’t want to get in another fight which might have happened. I figured we both needed time and I actually asked Kea if her and JJ could come over and watch Soph so we could go out to dinner to talk.”

Alex slips her hand down Tobin’s side and into her underwear. “Watching you with Derek tonight was kinda hot. Bottle feeding with one hand while looking over your playbook...mm-mm.” Alex kisses Tobin’s jaw. “So fucking hot.” Her fingers begin to rub against Tobin. She kisses along her jaw and sits up slightly while Tobin relaxes back into the pillows, enjoying Alex’s fingers.” Alex grins at how wet Tobin becomes from the early touches. She puts her leg over Tobin’s and sits herself up in her lap.

Alex lifts her own shirt up off her head then starts to disappear under the covers, pulling Tobin’s shorts and underwear down as she does.

Soon Tobin is breathing heavy with her fingers tangled in Alex’s hair. “Fuck,” she groans softly as Alex’s tongue swirls around her clit.

~~~

“Do you want pancakes or waffles?” Tobin asks as she pulls out the ingredients from the fridge. She looks at Charina who is sitting at the counter, quietly watching Tobin closely with her elephant tucked under her arm. Tobin sets the eggs and milk down and leans against the opposite side of the counter. “Okay so look at the eggs if you want waffles and look at the milk if you want pancakes. Eggs mean waffles, and milk is pancakes.”

Charina looks down at the counter for a second then turns her head to look at the eggs. Tobin smiles and stands up, “Waffles it is.” She finishes pulling everything out then turns to their junk food cabinet and starts pulling out oreos, chocolate chips, m&ms, rainbow sprinkles, and nutella. She slides it all over to the four year old. “I’ll make the batter but you need to decide what goes on top of your waffle. I’m also gonna cut up bananas and strawberries if you want that and we have blueberries.”

Tobin half watches the girl as she mixes the batter ingredients together. “So, I don’t know if you heard this earlier but I play football. Do you watch football ever?” Tobin glances up but there is no movement so she just keeps talking. “I play for the Texans which is the team here in Houston. I have a game this weekend that I hope you can come to. I could get you one of my jerseys if you wanted or someone else's or I could even get your name on the back and you could pick your favorite number.” Tobin pulls out the waffle iron and plugs it in.

“Alex on the other hand plays soccer. She plays soccer for two teams.” Tobin starts cutting up the fruit while she keeps talking. “She plays for Houston’s team, the Dash. Their colors are orange and blue. Not the biggest fan of their jersey this year but don’t tell Alex that. She also plays for the US Women’s National Team. I normally like those jerseys better. They just finished qualifying for the World Cup next summer. It’s in South Africa. That’s a different country. We’re gonna have to get you a passport so that you can come with us.” Tobin starts moving the fruit to bowls. “Have you ever been on a plane before?” She doesn’t wait for a response. “It can be a little scary at first, we’ll take a few shorter trips so you get used to it. I promise you it’s not that bad. I fly all over the country. We’ll get you some candy. That always makes trips better.” Tobin gets the batter and starts to pour it. The two are silent for a minute while Tobin pulls plates out of the cabinets. “Did you decide what you want on your waffle?”

Charina nods but makes no movement.

“You want everything?”

Charina nods again. Tobin grins and pulls everything back over. She take a sip of her coffee and looks at the small girl.

“Do you want orange juice?” The girl shakes her head. “Water it is.” Tobin turns to get a cup with a cap.

It’s so quiet that Tobin barely hears the soft voice ask, “Milk?”

Tobin turns with a grin, hearing the voice for the first time. “You want milk?” The girl nods. “You got it kid.” The waffle iron beeps and Tobin moves over to take the waffle off.

Twenty minutes later, Tobin sits next to her new daughter, finishing her waffles and coffee. “Okay so this was maybe Alex’s second time driving on her own and she was driving herself back from her club team’s practice. She  missed the turn or something and accidentally and went up the off ramp. You know those big red road signs that say ‘No Entry’, it’s kinda like a stop sign. She went up one of those. She was this close,” Tobin holds her fingers an inch apart, “from driving right into someone.”

“You telling lies about me, Tobs?” Alex asks as she walks into the kitchen with Derek on her hip.

“Not lies,” Tobin grins as Alex leans in for a quick kiss. “I made waffles. They’re in the oven and coffee’s in the pot.”

“Okay,” Alex smiles, handing Derek over. “Can you feed him?”

Tobin nods and moves to put him in Sophia’s old high chair they had just pulled from the garage. “Charina what does your brother like to eat for breakfast?”

Tobin looks over to the girl that had spoken a few words since waking up. “Bananas.”

Alex’s eyes widen but she makes sure not to say anything as Tobin moves to the bananas she had previously cut up. “Tobs make sure you cut them more.” Tobin nods as she cuts them up into safer size pieces so he doesn’t choke then puts them into a bowl along with a large spoon.

“Can I?” Charina asks.

Tobin nods adamantly. “I was hoping you would help.” She pulls the high chair over and hands the young girl the bowl. The two woman watch carefully as she feeds her brother bananas with an almost smile on her face.

“I was thinking that today or tomorrow we should go get them Halloween costumes since it’s next week. I told her to start thinking about what she wants to be.”

An hour later, when everyone is dressed and they sit in the living room with Moana on the screen above them Charina turns from the end of the couch and points, “Tob, costume?”

Tobin looks over still softly singing the words she had memorized long ago. “You wanna be Moana?” The girl nods. Tobin grins and looks down at Derek who is watching the movie next to her. “Do you think we could dress Derek up as Hei Hei or one of the coconuts.”

“Hei Hei,” she replies happily.

“Alex,” Tobin shouts into the kitchen where her wife is working on her computer, “we’re going to Party City once the movie is over.”

~~~

Tobin slowly lowers the turkey into the frier, the oil bubbling. “Mommy, can we not watch football? It’s sooo boring.” Tobin looks at Charina in shock almost dropping the turkey the rest of the way. Alex stops mid cut into the potato and looks up in her own shock.

“Uh, yeah,” Tobin replies, closing the lid. “Why don’t you go pick out a movie with Soph and I’ll put it on for you in a minute.”

“Okay.” She runs off with a smile and Tobin turns to Alex.

“Where did that come from?”

Alex shakes her head. “I have no idea. I just expected we were gonna be Tobs and Alex for the rest of our lives.”

“I mean she definitely picked that up from Soph because she called me mommy but I haven’t been saying anything.”

“Neither have I.”

“We just can’t make a big deal about it.”

“I think I handled that pretty well given the fact that she called football boring.

Alex puts her knife down and walks over to Tobin, wrapping her in a hug. “I know it’s been real for a while but I feel like she’s finally accepted us.”

“MOM-MY,” Sophia yells from the living room.

Tobin rolls her eyes but heads towards the voice “The princess calls.”

~~~

“Mama.” “Mommy.”

Tobin and Alex both groan as their daughters jump on them. “It’s time to open presents,” Charina informs them as she tries to pull Alex out of bed.

The two slowly get out of bed and walk downstairs, getting Derek out of his crib as they move towards the stairs. “Coffee,” Alex mumbles tiredly. The two had been up for hours wrapping presents and setting up the presents.

They watch Charina’s eyes light up as she takes in the tree surrounded by presents and the full stockings above the fireplace. “Char, let us just get coffee then you guys can open presents. Go check out your stocking.”

“You guys want hot chocolate?”

The two girls nod and Sophia drags Charina towards their stockings. “Help Derek with his.” Alex sets Derek down and he follows after his sisters.

Tobin leans against the counter as the coffee drips down into the cup. “Did we go overboard?”

“Maybe,” Alex starts pulling out mugs for the children. “But that look made it worth it.”


	9. 2023

Tobin walks out onto the field with their youngest child in her arms. She watches as his biological sister and adoptive sister run to Alex ahead of her. Each child had picked out the flowers they wanted to give their Mama for her 100th cap ceremony. Derek had grabbed for the orange flowers while the two girls ran around the store smelling every single one before finally finding the right ones. Alex bends down to accept the flowers from Charina and Sophia. Tobin puts her son down as he starts to squirm, wanting to give his mom flowers too. 

Alex smiles at the fifteen month old waddling towards her and scoops him up. Tobin walks with Alex’s parents and sisters, and her own parents, each giving her a hug and kiss. Tobin reaches her last, giving her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. They all turn towards the camera, Tobin’s arm around her wife, their son in between them and their daughters at their feet. Once the pictures are taken, Tobin takes Derek and gives Alex another kiss before she walks back to the side of the field and the group heads up to their box to watch Alex captain her 102nd cap. 

Halfway through the game Sophia dives into Tobin’s lap, tears streaming down her face. Tobin expertly wipes them away with her finger and scoops her up. “What happened?”

Sophia points to her older sister who is playing with a mini nerf soccer ball. Tobin sighs, “Char, you have to play nice with your sister.”

“But she’s a baby,” the newly five year old argues.

“AM NOT,” Sophia shrieks, the tears falling again. 

Tobin sighs and stands up. She strokes the back of Sophia’s head as she continues to loudly cry and looks at her oldest daughter. “Char come sit next to Grams for a while and watch Mama play.” Tobin can see she’s about to argue but gives her a look. “Sit.” Tobin watches her sulk over before taking Sophia out into the hall to calm her down. 

It takes fifteen minutes and the promise of being allowed on the field, an activity she would have gotten regardless, before Sophia has stopped crying. Tobin takes her back into the room and sees Charina with her face pressed against the glass, watching the game below intently. She turns as Tobin sits down with a huge smile. 

“Mama scored. She did the heart.” 

Tobin smiles and glances at the field, the score now 1-0. “Did you do it back?” She nods enthusiastically then turns back. Tobin leans down to whisper in Sophia’s ear. The girl quickly hops off Tobin’s lap and pushes her face against the glass too. Tobin glances over to where Derek is asleep against Alex’s mom’s chest with his noise cancelers on. “Do you want me to take him?”

“He’s fine,” she smiles. “I miss this, when they’re young and don’t want to run away from you.”

“You can always come babysit,” Tobin offers.

“We’re coming down for the start of the season next month.”

Tobin refocuses on the field. A few minutes later Alex scores again but the offsides flag goes up. Charina and Sophia keep cheering, unaware and unconcerned about the lack of an actual tallied goal until Alex doesn’t hold up a heart with her hands towards them. 

Sophia turns around, pouting again, “Hawrt?”

Tobin leans down and tries to explain it wasn’t a goal but offsides goes over the three year old’s head again. “Mama will do hearts with you after the game,” Tobin offers instead.

The game ends with another goal by Kealia.

“Sophia,” Tobin warns as the younger girl tries to run through the crowd, “hold your sister’s hand.” Tobin finally gets to the field level where Alex is waiting and first hands down Derek who is immediately stolen by Emily and Rose. “Can you do the heart thing again?” Tobin asks, lifting Charina. “We were having a little meltdown during your goal and Soph was really upset after the offsides when you didn’t do the heart.” Alex places Charina down next and the older girl runs off to find a ball and player to play with. Alex places Sophia on her hip before kissing her rubber ring and holding it up to Tobin who does the same, connecting them.

Alex holds her free hand out in front of her, fingers curved to make half a heart. “Can you help me finish the heart Soph?” Sophia grins and holds out her little hand, fingers splayed.

Tobin makes the heart with her own hands and kisses in Sophia and Alex’s direction. Alex starts signing for the people that had formed a large crowd around them. A few minutes in, Sophia is given a crayon by a fan and asked to sign the ticket as well. Alex watches how happy her little girl gets as she explains to her what to do and watches her scribble. 

At one point, she turns to check on her other kids, Derek is nuzzled into Emily’s neck on the other side of the field and Charina is signing her own autographs next to Becky, who has become her favorite in the few short months that she had known the team.

~~~

Derek stands on Tobin’s lap, cheering for his mama, the entire family is wearing one of Alex’s many jerseys. Each of the children have their faces painted red, white, and blue after seeing it the previous game and demanding they get it too. Tobin is thankful for Alex’s sisters have each taken charge of one of her daughters since they arrived in South Africa following the group stage.

The whistle blows and the semifinal game begins below them. Tobin focuses more on the children than the game, the large crowd in the foreign country making her nervous that one of them will walk off.

During the first game, Charina had gone to the bathroom without telling anyone. Tobin had a near heart attack and was minutes away from stopping the game against Italy to tell Alex, have an announcement made, call in the guards, anything. Luckily there had been one sane adult, Alex’s dad. He went to the closest bathroom and had someone check inside for her. He came back a few minutes later holding her hand. Tobin fell into her seat when she saw them, hands over her face to keep herself from breaking down. Charina eventually came over, climbed into her lap, and gave her a big hug and a sorry. Tobin held her tight for the rest of the game, picking her up to cheer when necessary.

Alex and Tobin had a talk with their oldest child after the game about not going anywhere alone, stranger danger, and basically everything short of Tobin putting a leash on her.

~~~

Alex stands at the end of their driveway with Tobin, watching the back of the bus as it drives away.  She looks over at Tobin and reaches her hand out. “You gotta go to practice now babe.”

“What if she needs something?”

“What could she possibly need?”

Tobin shrugs and lets Alex pull her back into the house. “She has her lunch box, pens, pencils, crayons, a notebook, a water bottle, and extra clothes.”

“What if she doesn’t make any friends? You know how shy she is.”

“It’ll be okay. We already talked to the teacher. I’m sure at least a few of the boys will remember you’re her mom and she’ll be the most popular girl in class.”

Tobin nods as they walk into the house, remembering the slight fanfare when they had arrived at school the week before to meet the teacher. Charina had been less then pleased with the amount of attention Tobin was getting. 

“So I’m picking her up at two?”

Alex shakes her head. “No. She’s gonna take the bus home.”

Tobin picks up her gym bag that’s next to the door. “Okay. I guess I’ll see you tonight.” She leans in to kiss Alex. “Soph, D, let’s go.” The two younger children come running with their mini-Texans backpacks. “At least these two aren’t embarrassed by me yet.”

“Just wait,” Alex grins before giving each kid a hug and kiss, “we will be soon enough.”


	10. 2024

Alex tries to keep an eye on each of her three children in the large crowd. US soccer had willingly let her miss three days of training prior to Olympic qualifiers starting as long as she took a camera crew with her to media day. Alex had made a compromise and now each of her children had a microphone in hand and were seeking out their favorite players.

“Derek,” Alex scolds, scooping him up before he can get away. “I told you, you need to stay in our area. Mommy is going to come find us. She knows we’re here.”

“I don’ want mommy,” her son whines, pointing out towards the crowd. Alex tries to figure out who he’s pointing at. “Tre,” he says grabbing at the air as he tries to reach out.

Alex finally spots his favorite player, giving an interview twenty feet away. “He’ll come over here bud.” Alex pulls out her phone. “I’ll text him right now to come over. Do you know what you’re gonna ask him?”

He nods enthusiastically and Alex smiles as she fixes the clip on the bowtie he made her buy. She sets him down on the chair so he can see while she looks over at her two daughters now interviewing a few of her wife’s teammates. She looks out through the crowd not sure where her wife is but looking forward to the list of questions her kids had devised over breakfast.

An hour and many fun interviews later, Tobin walks over with a smile. She bends down and holds her arms out as the three children run over to give her a hug. The US Soccer crew sets up the chairs so all five of them can be visible in one shot. Tobin sits in the middle with Derek on her lap, Charina sits on her right and Alex sits on her left with Sophia in her lap.

Tobin looks around at her kids, “So what-da ya got for me?”

Charina, being the only one that can read, pulls out the list of questions from her pocket and smiles. “Mama, said we each get to ask two questions. Derek gets to go first.” She leans over and loudly whispers in Derek’s ear. Tobin tries to keep a straight face while pretending not to hear the question but looks at Alex, knowing where the question came from.

Derek smiles up at his mom. “Wha’s Mama’s favwite cowor?”

“Hmm. Let’s see,” Tobin pretends to think. “Is it blue and red like the Texans.”

Derek’s smile grows and shakes his head.

“Darn,” Tobin glances over at Sophia who has a huge grin. “What about orange cause of the Dash?”

Sophia shakes her head too, “No that’s your favorite color Mommy.”

“Oh right,” Tobin nods. “Then it must be pink,” Tobin smiles.

“Finally,” Charina groans. Alex and Tobin laugh while she looks down at the paper. She quickly hops up and runs over to Alex, asking about a word. Alex whispers it in her ear. Tobin shifts over to the far chair to make it easier to see all three kids.

Charina hops up into Tobin’s vacated seat and looks at her mom “Where did you pra-pose to Mama?”

Tobin looks at Alex. “These are all about you huh?” She looks down at Charina “I proposed after the first game of mine your mom got to see. It was in a planetarium in Tennessee.”

“Wa’s that?” Derek asks, pushing his microphone into Tobin’s chin.

“It’s like a big tv screen on the ceiling and it shows the stars.” His eyes light up and he looks at the ceiling. “Guess we’re going to the planetarium when we get home.”

“He also wants to go see the dinosaurs at Jurassic Park.”

Tobin looks down at him, “What about the zoo instead? In Jurassic Park a lot people get eaten.” His eyes light up in excitement.

“Mommy, it’s my turn,” Sophia says to get Tobin’s attention. 

Tobin turns back with a smile. “I’m sorry love. What is your question?”

“Who’s your favorite soccer player?”

“And you can’t pick Ma,” Charina adds.

Tobin smiles at Alex and rolls her eyes. “Who’s gonna be the most mad if I don’t pick them?”

Alex chuckles softly. “All of them.”

“Hmm,” Tobin taps her chin. “I don’t think I can pick just one. Are we talking national team, Dash, Orlando, club, college, high school? There’s a lot.”

“National team,” Alex answers, knowing her daughters would make her go through each one if given the chance.

Tobin thinks for a minute, “I guess Kea since I’ve known her since college and she helped me find an apartment and stuff when I first got to Houston. She’s probably the one I talk to the most still.”

The kids each ask one more question then Tobin is about to stand up but Alex stops her. “Hold on. We got you something too.”

Tobin looks confused as one of the US soccer members walks over and hands a thin, rectangular package to Alex. Alex gives it to Sophia, smiling at Tobin as the kids hand it to each other. Tobin takes it from Derek, able to tell that it’s a picture frame once it’s in her hands. 

Tobin looks at Alex confused as she slowly starts to pull the paper off. “What is this?”

Alex shakes her head. “You’ll never guess.”

Tobin pouts and pulls the frame out. She slowly turns it over than looks at Alex confused. She glances down at Alex’s stomach for a second than back at her wife’s face. 

Alex rolls her eyes and gives her wife a look. “And how could that possibly be mine?” Tobin glances down again at the framed sonogram in her hand. 

“How?” she asks, adjusting her grip around Derek. 

“I got the call two days ago. He’s due in May.”

“He?” Tobin wipes at her eye and presses a kiss to Derek’s head before standing up and moving to Alex who stands as well. Tobin wraps her in a hug, their two youngest between them. Charina, not wanting to be left out, squeezes in between their legs and joins in on the hug.

Alex glances at the cameras. The team had promised they wouldn’t post this part, at least for a long time so they could announce their new child on their own timeline.

~~~

Derek bounces in Alex’s lap, wearing his red Heath jersey. Sophia and Charina, also wearing their mom’s jersey, each in a different color because heaven forbid they match, are both in their own seats on either side with the grandparents next to them. Alex watches the game in front of her, every seat in the stadium filled as the 58th Super Bowl begins below them. Sophia happily points out Tobin as she walks with the other captains out for the coin toss. “GO MOMMY,” she shouts, which encourages her siblings to join in, not wanting to be outdone.

It takes a little convincing from Alex to settle the three down, explaining that they don’t want to lose their voices before the game even starts. Derek turns to Alex, almost hitting her in the face with the brim of his slightly too big Texans hat. “Mama?”

Alex lifts the hat so she can see his dark brown eyes. “Do you need to go to the bathroom again?” she asks.

He shakes his head and Alex sighs, potty training has not been going as easily as it was with Sophia. “Me sleep wif Mommy ’nigh?”

Alex sadly smiles at him, knowing he’s missed his napping partner the past week. “I don’t know bud. Mommy might need to stay with the team. We can ask her after the game. But you’re gonna go home with her and you guys can sleep as much as you want.” The whistle on the field blows and Alex watches Tobin run in for the opening kickoff.

Derek turns back around and Alex points Tobin out for him. Alex watches the game while keeping an eye on her kids, smiling as they cheer on their mom in the most important game of her career. She can’t wait to take them to France with her along with one more. She does hope that the Olympics go better for the team than the bronze World Cup medal she has in their house. 

South Africa had been a disappointment but the newer, younger players had grown in the last few months and they would hopefully qualify in the coming weeks for the upcoming Olympics. Alex squeezes Derek a little tighter, knowing he’s going home with Tobin while she flew down to Mexico for the qualifiers.

~~~

Tobin sits in their home theater under the weight of her kids, the Dash game had just started on the screen in front of them. With twelve plush seats and three bean bag chairs in the large room, the three children were all squished onto the same loveseat as Tobin. Tobin is only half watching, starting to fall asleep after her morning workout plus a few hours in the yard playing every variation of sport imaginable.

Tobin looks down as Derek plays with the wedding band on her finger. “Mommy, when do you get da big wing?”

“You mean the one with the diamond? It’s upstairs.”

He shakes his head. “Da Supa Bowl one.”

“Oh,” Tobin smiles, “in a few months bud. They still have to make it.”

“Why?”

“Cause it takes a long time,” Tobin explains, knowing this could go on for a while.

“Buh why?”

“They have a lot of designs on them and they don’t want to mess it up. You know what Mama’s big ring looks like?”

Derek nods and looks to where it sits in a display case along the wall with the rest of their sports memorabilia. 

“Mine is going to be like that.” She leans in with a whisper, “Don’t tell her but mine’s gonna be a lot bigger.”

Derek smiles and zips his lips shut. Tobin grins but does the same. 

Sophia points at the screen and leans forward, “Look it’s Mama.”

Tobin groans as a tiny elbow pushes into her stomach but glances at the screen, seeing a close up of her wife as she gets taken out in the box for a penalty kick. Tobin’s cell phone rings and she reaches for it with her free hand. She doesn’t recognize the number but she accepts the call anyways.

“Hello?”

The kids start screaming and celebrating as Alex scores the penalty kick and Tobin tries to hush them as she listens to the caller tell her she needs to get to the hospital right away.

As soon as she hangs up she reaches for the remote to turn the game off. The three kids all turn to her upset and start arguing. “I need you all to go put shoes on right now,” Tobin instructs forcefully. “I will let you watch the game in the car but only if you hurry. Charina, can you help D please?” The three run off while Tobin goes to put on her own shoes and start gathering everything she can think of that she needs. 

The baby is five weeks early and in some sort of distress and her wife is about as far away as she can be while still being in the country. Tobin calls Alex’s cell to leave a voicemail telling her to call her as soon as possible. She then starts calling or texting every person in Seattle that she can think of that would be at the game but all of them are on the sidelines or on the field. She even tries texting the few Reign players that she knows, hoping someone, anyone will see it at half time. She tells each of them that Alex needs to call her as soon as she can. She grabs a sweatshirt for each child and a few books and games and quickly stuffs them into a gym bag.

“Guys, let’s go,” she calls. Little footsteps come down the stairs and soon all three children stand in front of her in Houston Dash jerseys. Tobin hustles them towards the car and gets them all buckled in. She hands the iPad to Charina so they can watch the game, then starts the drive to the hospital across the city.

Alex calls Tobin when they are halfway there, Tobin knows it’s halftime based on sounds of the halftime show coming from behind her. “What’s wrong?” Alex asks immediately.

“Say hi to Mama,” Tobin says to the children behind her.

After quick hellos, Alex asks, “Can you tell me what’s wrong?” knowing the children might not know what’s going on.

“He’s coming now. I don’t know too much but we’re on our way to the hospital.”

“He him? He’s a month early,” Alex says as calmly as she can for her children’s sake but freaking out internally.

“Yeah,” Tobin agrees. “It didn’t sound too good.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Text me what hospital. I probably won’t be there until late tonight.”

“Are you gonna finish the game?”

“No. I already have my boots off.”

Tobin sighs, “Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you too. I’ll call you when I figure out my flight info.”

With that Alex hangs up and Tobin tries exceptionally hard not to lean against her horn to will the traffic to move faster.

After a few minutes the game comes back and Tobin listens as they talk about Alex being substituted out, not being on the bench, and speculating injury.

“Where’s Mama?” Sophia asks.

“She on her way to the airport, Soph. Your brother is coming a little early and she wants to be there with us.”

~~~

Tobin sits in the waiting room anxiously, the three kids passed out in the chairs around them. She rubs her eyes, tired from the long day and a few tears. She then looks at her watch, 10:30. She had been here for about eight hours, speaking to both doctors and the social worker a few times but mostly just trying to keep her kids somewhat entertained and out of trouble.

The door of the private waiting room opens and Alex walks in, still in her game shorts but she has her warm up shirt on instead of her jersey and sneakers instead of cleats. Tobin smiles gratefully, unable to get up with Sophia using her lap as a pillow. Instead she holds her hand out and Alex walks over, leaning down to give Tobin a kiss. “Have you heard anything?”

“They’re still running tests and keeping an eye on him but they say besides normal premie stuff he looks good,” Tobin quietly replies.

“What is normal premie stuff? I basically spent the entire trip looking at worst case scenarios.”

“He’s underweight obviously and they said his breathing seemed a little labored but that it was actually pretty good for his size. He’s so tiny, less than five pounds, and he’s not really eating. They had to put a tube in because he wasn’t taking the bottle. They said that’s pretty normal too. Um…,” Tobin thinks of what else she was told. “He hasn’t developed jaundice yet, that has to do with his liver, but it could take time.”

Alex nods, taking in the information. “Where is he?”

“The NICU. I couldn’t take the kids in there. They were bouncing off the walls. The social worker watched them for a few minutes while they ate dinner so I could go see him but he’s been alone most of the day. I didn’t really know what to do. I can’t be in both places at once and the social worker has other kids she had to help. I couldn’t ask her to stay and watch them for long.”

Alex can see how tired her wife is, the worry lines etched on her usually relaxed face. “Why didn’t you call someone before your phone died?”

“Who do I put this on? I didn’t really know who I wanted to be around right now besides you.”

“Well both our moms will be here in a few hours. Their flight was delayed. Oh,” Alex starts digging through her large purse. She pulls out her phone charger and starts looking for an outlet. “Let’s charge your phone. Your mom tried to call you.”

“Sorry,” Tobin apologizes. “I didn’t grab enough to keep them entertained.” Tobin points at the bag, her phone on top.

“I might have left without them so you are already doing better than me.” Alex looks at the kids sprawled out on the seats as she grabs Tobin’s phone to plug it in. “I’m sorry you had to do this alone.”

Tobin shrugs, “You’re here now. Toss me my sweatshirt.” Alex hands it over while going to plug in the phone. 

Tobin slides out from under Sophia’s head and replaces her lap with the sweatshirt. She stands behind Alex, waiting for her to stand up before wrapping her in a tight hug. Alex eventually turns around and hugs her back. They hold each other for a few silent minutes, both emotionally and physically exhausted.

“Do you want to see him?” Tobin asks.

“We can’t leave them.” 

“I meant alone.”

“Oh, uh, can I?”

Tobin nods, “Parents have twenty four hour visiting privileges.” Alex glances at the sleeping children. “Just ask the nurse and she can take you to his little incubator.”

Alex looks around at their children. “But we’re not his parents... yet.”

Tobin takes Alex’s hand. “I signed all my stuff already and I put your name down as his other parent. I had to sign so I could see him and be in charge of all his medical stuff. You can sign everything tomorrow.”

Alex wraps her arms tightly around Tobin again. “I’m sorry you had to do this alone.”

Tobin shakes her head, but accepts the hug.

~~~

Alex looks through the hard plastic at her son. Tobin places a hand on her shoulder as the nurse readies him. “You ready to hold him?”

“He’s still so tiny.” 

“You won’t break him,” Tobin promises, having first held him the night before.

For the past week and a half, Tobin and Alex tried to spend as much of their time at the hospital as possible without forgetting about their other kids. They traded off going home to eat dinner with their three oldest, who are mostly being watched by their grandmothers, and get a semi decent night’s rest. Alex goes to practice on the mornings when there is practice but stays home while the rest of the team travels to Chicago. All of Alex’s and half of Tobin’s, since it’s the off season, teammates had been through to check on the couple and see little Riley.

Derek spent most mornings at the hospital with one or both of his moms while his sisters were at school. He was happy to have a brother. Alex and Tobin loved listening to him talk to Riley through the opening about anything and everything that the toddler could think of. 

Alex sits, waiting as their son is lifted up carefully, still attached to oxygen and a feeding tube. He is then placed in her arms and Alex is handed a bottle. “Just press it against his lips,” the nurse instructs, “and we’ll see if he takes it.”

~~~

The front door is pulled open as the married couple works on getting Riley’s car seat out of the car without waking the sleeping infant. He had doubled in size since he was born but still only weighed nine and a half pounds. Sophia and Charina came running out and Alex quickly stepped away from the car to stop them from waking their brother.

The five silently make it into the house where Derek is napping and the two grandmothers smile at their newest grandchild. They take the car seat and point the tired couple in the direction of the lunch they had prepared. It doesn’t take long for them to eat and then be shuffled upstairs to take a nap with Derek, exhausted from their weeks of mostly living in the hospital. 

The two wake up to Derek poking them and giggling, happy to have both his moms home at the same time. Alex starts to tickle him while Tobin slowly make her way downstairs to check on the rest of the household. She sees Charina very carefully holding her new brother in her arms. Tobin checks the time then looks to Alex’s mom who is watching the two very closely from a foot away. “Did you feed him yet?”

She shakes her head, “We could hear Derek laughing so we figured you would be down soon.” Tobin smiles and heads into the kitchen to prepare a bottle.

~~~

Tobin stands in the pool with Riley, the three older kids are trying to see who can make the biggest splash at the other end. “Last round,” Tobin calls after checking her watch. Alex’s final game before the Olympics was starting in half an hour and she still had to cook the hot dogs and change.

She lifts the brim of Riley’s Texans bucket hat and smiles at him. He’s still small for his age and was going to the doctor weekly to make sure everything was still okay internally. He looks up with the strings from Tobin’s matching hat in his mouth. “How you doing kid?” Tobin laughs as she pulls the string out and starts heading for the stairs.

Tobin wraps a towel around both of them, gets the other kids out of the pool then heads inside to grab his bottle out of the fridge. She comes back out to a cartoon on the television and her three older kids sprawled out on the outdoor couch. She hands Riley to Charina who loves feeding him then walks to the grill, pulling the hotdogs out of the mini fridge.

“You guys can finish this show but Mama’s playing soon.”

“When’s Grammy getting here?” Sophia asks.

“We’re gonna go pick her up tomorrow morning from the airport.”

“Then France?”

“No. She’s gonna be here for a week to watch Riley while we go to Portland then when we get back she’s taking you to France.”

“Firs class?” Derek asks, crawling over the back of the couch and running to Tobin with his arms out like an airplane. He runs into Tobin’s legs and wraps his arms around them.

“You’re going to France first class, buddy. I figured Grammy deserved it since she’s dealing with the three of you for that long. You’re gonna be good and sleep on the flight though or I’ll have her pack you in a bag and send you back to me.”

“Why can’t you come?” Sophia asks.

“Because Riley is still very small and he gets sick easily. You and mama are gonna have so much fun together and you can call me every day to tell me about it.”

~~~

Tobin waits at the airport for her family to return. She has a white sleeveless hoodie on with the hood pulled up over her head and sunglasses on. She leans against the wall outside of the security walkthrough, and looks down at her phone, trying to draw the least amount of attention towards herself as possible. She can hear her family before she sees them. Sophia and Derek holding hands and laughing loudly. She looks up and pulls her sunglasses off. 

Charina sees her first and takes off sprinting. Alex is about to yell at her until she notices the hooded figure bending down with her arms open, ready to receive their daughter.

It takes the two other children a few seconds to catch on but soon they start running as well. Tobin catches all of them in her arms and holds them tight. Alex waits while the kids all talk over each other to get Tobin’s attention about all the stuff they did in France. It takes a minute before Tobin can stand and give Alex a hug and kiss.

“Where’s Ry?”

“With the sitter. He developed a slight fever last night. We have a doctor’s appointment at two but I gave him one of his pills. He at least ate this morning so that was good, he didn’t eat last night. He’d been asleep since I fed him,” Tobin glances at her watch, “Three hours ago.”

Tobin takes the cart with all their luggage and starts pushing it towards the elevator that will take them up to short term parking. Now that the children are talking over each other they are drawing a lot more drawing attention to them, Tobin sees the phones start pointing in their direction. “Want me to run ahead and get the car? I can take one or two of them?”

Alex shakes her head and squeezes Tobin’s hand. “It’s been over a month since I’ve seen you. Let them take their pictures. You’re not leaving me.”

Tobin leans into Alex, “So you gonna wear your medal for me tonight?”

Alex shakes her head and laughs before whispering back, “I thought you could wear it for me.”

Tobin growls lowly as they wait for the elevator.  

~~~

Tobin sits on the loveseat next to Alex, their children sprawled out around them, all asleep as the credits roll for the Disney movie they’d both seen a hundred times. “All of your jet lag is going to be the end of me,” Tobin comments as she pick up Sophia. 

Alex nods sleepily. “I tried to get them to sleep on the plane but one of them was always awake and would wake up the others.”

“I’ll put them all to bed then come get you.”

Alex nods and rests her head against the couch while Tobin walks out. Once Tobin has put the three oldest to bed she comes back to pull Riley off of Alex’s chest but finds the room dark and empty. She walks back upstairs, checking his room and seeing him resting in the crib. She feels his head with the back of her hand before quietly slipping out and heading towards her own bedroom. She hears Alex rummaging around in the walk in closet so she heads to the bathroom to brush her teeth. 

“Tobs,” Alex says softly a minute later as Tobin washes her face. Tobin looks to the doorway where Alex is leaning against the frame in white, see through lingerie. The gold medal she had won dangling from her hand. Tobin smirks as Alex walks closer. “Do you like what I got in Paris?”

Tobin hums. 

Alex puts the medal around Tobin’s neck leans to her ear. “I’ve missed you so much baby.” She nips Tobin’s ear, pulls back and hops up on the counter and pulls Tobin in between her legs. “I’ve missed your lips,” Alex presses a quick kiss against them. “your hands,” she takes Tobin’s hand and places it on her chest, “the feeling of your body pressed against mine,” Alex wraps her legs around Tobin’s waist and pulls her in so they are flush against one another. Alex winds her arms around Tobin’s neck and looks right into her eyes  “but mostly I’ve been missing,  _ and dreaming _ , about your tongue.” Alex leans in and starts passionately kissing Tobin. 

Tobin lifts Alex and carries her towards the bed. Just as Alex is starting to lift Tobin’s shirt a cry comes through the baby monitor. The two freeze and sigh. “I got him,” Tobin offers

Alex bites her lip and releases Tobin to let her walk away. Alex falls back into the pillows and listens to Tobin through the baby monitor as she comforts their son back to sleep.

~~~

Alex sits on the couch at her parents’ house. The kids were all upstairs in her childhood bedroom, fast asleep. After a long day of playing in the snow they were exhausted and only Charina had made it through the first quarter of Tobin’s game. 

After carrying her upstairs, Alex curled herself into the couch to watch the halftime show. They show a small segment of a larger piece on Tobin who has made two hundred and forty nine field goals in her career. She takes a picture of the screen when she sees a shot of her wife playing with the kids in their backyard. She rubs the sleep out of her eyes, trying to keep herself awake as the second half starts.

Alex nervously waits, each drive wanting the Texans to score but also not so Tobin can kick the field goal. She smiles when Tobin finally makes it at the end of the third quarter. Alex is having trouble keeping her eyes open during the last few minutes of the game. 

“Now that Travis is out with an ankle injury it looks like Heath will take over punting duty.” Alex squints at the screen at the sound of Tobin’s name.

“She’s having slight trouble catching the ball on these snaps. I’ve been watching her for the past minute and almost every one has gone anywhere but where she wants it to be.”

“That’s what you get when you switch from hiking it to a six four punter, the tallest in the league, to a five six, the shortest.”

“And it looks like she’s being called into action now. It’s fourth and eight on Houston’s forty.” 

Alex tunes the announcer’s out as they continue to talk about the stats of the blow out game. Nothing had been going right for Houston this game, the last of the regular season. Alex was thankful that the team had already made the playoffs or Tobin would be a lot angrier having to end the season that way. 

Alex half watches as Tobin stands tall, waiting for the snap. She knows her wife is nervous but she is hiding it well. She hasn’t punted in a game since high school and Alex isn’t sure how much she actually practices it.

The ball is flung back, going way over Tobin’s head. She jumps and is able to just get the tip of her finger on it. She turns, running for it. She bends down as she gets close. As soon as the ball is in Tobin’s hands a navy blue jersey comes from behind and tackles her.

Alex cringes as Tobin’s body folds under the opposing player. The whistle blows the play dead and he hops up, pounding his chest a few times, looking down at Tobin who is on her side. He stops and leans back down, towards her facemask. After a second he stands up and starts waving towards the Texans sideline. 

The camera remains on Tobin who has barely moved, just bringing up one hand to her helmet. Alex leans forward anxiously as she watches the medical team attend to her wife. They switch to a replay and Alex internally begs them to go back to the live feed. Alex cringes as they go through the different angles.

They go back to the live play and there are now a bunch of people crowded around Tobin including two people holding a backboard.

“Looks like they aren’t taking any chances and are going to spine board her.”

“She has been moving her arms and it looks like there was slight leg movement so I’m guessing this is precautionary.”

“They were examining her lower back before putting her on the board.” Alex tunes out their speculation again, eyes focused on Tobin who is being lifted then a board slid underneath her. Alex watches helplessly as Tobin is strapped onto the board then lifted onto the medical cart. Players from both teams come over to her, patting her leg or moving towards her head to say something. Tobin holds up a hand and a few guys softly tap it before she is driven off the field. As soon as Tobin is off the screen Alex bounds up the stairs and knocks on her parents’ bedroom door. 

~~~

Alex squeezes Cindy’s hand nervously as the elevator takes them up to Tobin’s floor at the hospital in Seattle. It has been almost twelve hours since the injury. The two hadn’t had an easy time finding a flight across the country at eleven. Alex had been able to talk to Tobin a little bit but she had been run through a bunch of tests throughout the night revealing broken vertebrae which had compromised her spinal cord but not severed it.

Alex stops outside of the door and looks in. She can’t hold back the tears when she sees Tobin propped up in bed, the dirt from the game still on her face and a brace on. The footballer was nodding at one of the team doctors but as soon as she notices Alex and her mom through the glass her face lights up. 

Most of the team comes through before they fly back to Houston without her. After talking to Tobin they move to Alex and Cindy who are standing in the corner. A few Seattle players also come in to check on Tobin, including the player who made the tackle. He looks distraught. Alex and Cindy leave the room so they can talk in private, standing outside the door but watching through the glass. As he comes out he wipes his eyes then moves to them. He apologizes profusely and gives them his number in case they need anything while in Seattle. He offers his home along with home cooked meals and a car service. It takes a few tries for them to turn it all down but the Texans are already taking care of them while they wait for Tobin to be well enough to travel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Feelings? Opinions? Predictions?


	11. 2025

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Better late than never right? Nice and long too. For those that read this already I added a few scenes, they're denoted by *~~~* so you can pick them out if you want

It takes over two weeks before Tobin is able to fly back to Houston. She’s still in a wheelchair with a hard brace to keep her vertebrae in line. Alex pushes the chair up the ramp their dad’s had put in a few days ago to their front door.

“Mommy,” Charina shouts, the first to notice them entering. Soon all three older kids are standing around Tobin, looking at the chair she’s in skeptically. They had all seen it in their daily video chats but now it was more real and less of a joke.

“You guys just gonna stare or do I get a hug?” Tobin teases, opening her arms wide. The kids cautiously step into their mom’s arms. 

A few hours later, Tobin sits with Riley asleep in her arms, watching her other kids play on the bikes that Santa had gotten them. She watches her dad help Sophia balance. Alex comes up next to her and leans down. “How’re you doing?”

“The kids still seem a little freaked out and don’t fully grasp that I’m stuck in the chair. Soph wanted me to help her ride the bike.”

“Your dad’s got that taken care of. They haven’t seen either of us in two weeks. All they’ve seen is you in the hospital. They know you were injured and now you’re in a wheelchair. They’re scared. Not of you but for you.”

“Maybe we can try the walking thing tonight so they see it’s not permanent.”

“I think we should wait till you’re a little bit more through your rehab before we do any walking at home. If you fall you could make it worse. We can take them to rehab if you want. They can see you in the harness.”

Tobin glances at the new van in the driveway able to fit her wheelchair. “If your parents want to head home they can. I tried to convince mine they could go but my dad told me to shut up.”

“Why would they leave?”

Tobin looks down at Riley who’s softly snoring. “They’ve been looking after them for two weeks, taking them to school, doctor appointments, making their lunches, forcing Derek to take a bath. Your dad basically made the house wheelchair friendly, built ramps everywhere, installed the chair lift.”

“He’s a contractor, that stuff is fun for him. If this was permanent I’m sure he would have put in hand rails to all the bathrooms and widened all the doorways. Actually I’m positive he was going to. I had to tell him not too because I didn’t want the holes in the tile or to have to buy new doors. And about the kids, they love them. Watching them isn’t a burden. They love spoiling them.” Alex reaches over to squeeze Tobin’s hand. “If you really want them to go I’ll tell them but accepting help isn’t a sign of weakness. You’re as much their kid as I am. They just want to help.”

Tobin pulls her hand from Alex’s to wipe her eyes. “Well then do you want to go to camp. If all the grandparents are going to be here, you can go. That’s one for each kid.”

“And who’s gonna help you. You specifically said you didn’t want your mom helping you in the bathroom.”

“I’ll hold it,” Tobin smirks. “And the kids can just run me through the sprinklers.”

Alex rolls her eyes. “It’s a friendly. Jill understood when I told her I wasn’t coming last week. She told me to focus on my family which is what I’m doing. I’m not leaving you.”

“What if you just went for a few days. You guys do all your baseline testing so it would be good to get that in and they’ll know the numbers aren’t your best but it’s something.”

“Mommy,” Derek shouts before Alex can respond, “watch this.” The two look up and watch Derek ride his bike down the wooden ramp. 

“Wow,” Tobin compliments and holds out weak fist. Derek comes over and punches it. “That was great, D.”

~~~

Alex stands behind Tobin in the tunnel, gripping the push handles. She leans down to Tobin’s ear so she can be heard over the loud crowd. “You don’t have to go out there.”

Tobin nods. “I know. I want to.”

Alex nods and starts slowly pushing Tobin out a little bit more. She stops at the edge of the tunnel, waiting for the game to officially end, the Texans up by fifteen. A few of the security guards come over to talk to Tobin. They go in to shake her hand but Tobin offers a weak fist instead, unable to grasp their hands. Alex already knows how much Houston loves her wife but the admiration in their eyes and how Tobin interacts with them makes her smile. 

The game ends a few minutes later, sending the Texans to the AFC Championship game. Alex places a hand on Tobin’s shoulder and the footballer nods. Alex pushes her out onto the turf. The photographers that weren’t already on the field turn and start surrounding them. They leave a wide enough circle around them as Alex pushes Tobin forward. 

Eventually a few cameras find them and Tobin ends up on the jumbotron. She raises a hand and waves to the crowd that has all raised to their feet, stopped exiting, and clap for her. Her teammates soon push through the crowd and Alex watches them fist bump and hug her. She lets them take the handles of the wheelchair and push her away to join in their celebration.

Alex moves towards the sideline and looks up at the jumbotron that is still focused on Tobin. She shoos away the few reporters that come near, looking for comments and updates on Tobin’s condition. She instead pulls out her phone and takes a video, knowing the positive energy can help her wife later on during the rehab process.

~~~

“Go mommy!” Sophia cheers.

Tobin grunts as she works on moving her foot. “You got this,” Alex says encouragingly, her hands out in front of Tobin in case her arms give out. “You’re doing great.”

Tobin grunts again as she shifts her weight and starts to drag her other foot forward. Alex takes a small step back to give Tobin more room. Tobin takes one more step then shakes her head. “Done,” she breathes out. Alex steps into Tobin, holding her up as the physical therapist gets the wheelchair and slides it behind her. Alex lowers Tobin then lifts her feet onto the footrests. The therapists hands Alex a towel to wipe the sweat from Tobin’s face. 

“You did good today. Make sure you bring something you can get wet tomorrow and a change of clothes. Now that it’s fixed, we’re going to get you on the underwater treadmill.”

“If I can’t stand how am I going to not drown.”

“Hmm,” she replies, pulling Tobin out from between the parallel bars. “Hadn’t thought about that. Guess you’ll have to relearn to swim pretty quick.” She turns the chair and let’s Alex take the handles and steps in front of Tobin. “There’s a harness in there too. It’ll keep you up and we’ll work on your range of motion over the weight bearing aspect. We can’t do the same thing everyday. We need to give your body the ability to rest. Take it easy for the rest of the day.”

“Oh we will be.” Alex lets Sophia hold the handles below her hands to help push. “We have a full day of movies planned.”

“As long as it’s not Frozen Two,” Tobin hopes.

“Frozen,” Sophia cheers.

~~~

“Tobs you’re gonna be tired,” Alex states as she climbs into bed after helping Tobin.

“I wanna be on the field with them. I’ll sit down if I get tired.” 

“And what if a tackle comes off the field and right into you. You’re still healing.”

“I’ll be okay. I’ll stay near the benches, tackles never make it that far.”

“Why don’t you just sit up in the booth with the McNairs. You can go down to the field at the end of the game.”

“I want to walk out onto the field. They’ve supported me, us, a lot since it happened.” Alex nods, most of Tobin’s teammates had been by the house on numerous occasions and had offered to help with the children. “I want to be on the field with them but if I can’t I want to at least be down there. I’m a captain.”

Alex presses a kiss to Tobin’s cheek. “Fine.”

Tobin smirks, “So now that that’s done, can we get to the thing we were talking about earlier?”

Alex stares at her confused as she runs through their conversations of the day. “Remind me.”

“It’s been a while since we…” Tobin raises her eyebrows a few times, “and now that the house is free of parents it’s about time we get back to it.”

“Tobs, you’re still healing.”

“I have feeling down there. You certainly do. I can move all of my limbs.”

“You don’t have full control of your fingers.”

“Those aren’t necessary if you sit on my face. Now help me take my clothes off.” Tobin starts gripping at her shirt, trying to get it off quickly. Alex smirks and helps Tobin sit up then pull her shirt off. 

Alex then reaches down and sliding her hand under the band of Tobin’s shorts. Tobin’s hips lift slightly. “Do you think you could reach into my drawer?”

“I’m not tying you up right now. You can barely move to begin with.” 

“I want a toy. I might not be able to to use my fingers but I can control the speed of a toy.” Alex bites her lip and leans into Tobin’s lips while still rubbing her with her fingers.

“If you get tired, need a break, anything. You need to tell me. I don’t care if I’m milliseconds away. I need you to tell me.”

“If I need you to stop can you promise me that you’ll finish yourself off and I can watch.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Alex pulls her hand out of Tobin’s underwear and reaches over Tobin to the bedside table.

~~~

Tobin leans into her walker, picking it up and placing it a few inches in front of her. It’s a slow process as she moves out of the tunnel. The rest of the players are already out on the field, warming up. She makes her way along the sideline to where a bunch of fans are calling her name. She talks to them, apologizing for not being able to sign anything. She smiles for pictures before turning and moving to the interviews she had promised to give. 

Once she’s finished her interview, she slowly moves back into the tunnel and sits down. Wanting to conserve her energy and not take away the teams focus, she stays in the tunnel and pulls out her phone.

**Queen Wifey: You guys settled?**

Tobin first gets a picture back, a selfie of Alex with Riley on her lap, the two girls, then Kelley with Derek on her lap all waving at the camera. The entire group are wearing Heath jerseys.

**Lex: Yeah. Slight tantrum because we forgot Derek’s lucky bracelet and then Charina wanted her hair braided but we were already running late. Syd did it in the car thankfully but I was ready to put them in front of a slot machine with a bunch of quarters and just leave.**

**Lex: Honestly Riley is the only one who hasn’t been a pain all day and that’s because I made sure he napped.**

**Queen Wifey: Are they having fun now at least?**

**Lex: Totally. They’re like a little gang of bullies. I don’t know where they learned this type of trash talk but it’s pretty good. They even brought those little tissues packs and are trying to hand them out.**

**Queen Wifey: It was probably Dom. He spent a lot of time with them while you were in LA and when I went to London last year for the game he was trying to teach Cash some stuff**

**Lex: Cash’s being a little shy. These three hooligans are used to the crowds and aren’t scared of the Falcons fans. They instead keep telling them not to choke.  Inviting them to our house if they want to see not one but two rings. Their mommy can kick farther than their kicker. I’m impressed.**

**Lex: How are you doing? I saw you on the field. How were the interviews?**

**Queen Wifey: Good. Asked about rehab and stuff. Had to talk about not being able to play. They told me some stuff the team said about me yesterday which was nice.**

**Lex: I watched some of those while you napped with Riley earlier**

**Queen Wifey: My body’s still sore from Friday**

**Lex: You worked hard**

**Lex: Charina just told someone that they paid too much for an Ariana Grande concert**

**Queen Wifey: What did we raise?**

**Lex: We? This is all you**

**Queen Wifey: Who dropped the f bomb in front of them this morning?**

**Lex: Fine. We**

~~~

Dom groans as he carries Tobin down the stairs. “You really gotta lay off the fast food.”

Tobin rolls her eyes, “Let me put you through my post game recovery workout tomorrow. I bet you won’t last five minutes.”

Dom sets Tobin down in her wheelchair that Alex had set up on the tarmac and they start moving towards the mini bus they had ordered for everyone. 

“I think I’m good. We have the parade tomorrow anyways. Need to be fit enough to raise my beer up to my mouth all day.”

“So glad you’re in charge of looking after my children.”

“You trust me more than Kelley.”

Tobin nods, “Oh that’s very true.”

“Hey.” Kelley turns around with Derek asleep in her arms. “I don’t need to be here. I came to help you guys out.”

“That’s such a lie, Kel,” Alex counters from behind Tobin. “You asked me for a ticket if they made it.”

“Yeah, cause I wanted to help my oldest friend with her kids.”

“So why did you come ask me to change Riley’s diaper?” Tobin asks.

“Rehab. You need to work on your dexterity. I am trying to help the whole family, not just the ones younger than me.”

Tobin rolls her eyes and turns to look up at Alex. “She’s really staying all week?”

“Yeah,” Alex leans down and kisses Tobin’s cheek. “You’re gonna need help with the kids while I’m gone.”

Kelley lightly kicks the wheel of Tobin’s chair. “Dude, we’re gonna have so much fun.” Alex walks away to help load the bags. “I’m going to have them ask you so many questions… like where babies come from? Where Santa goes after Christmas? Why the sky is blue? What were those noises mama was making at night? Why they have to wear clothes in public? Why they can’t stay up later? and whatever else I can think of.”

“Alex,” Tobin whines. Dom laughs as he walks back over to help Tobin stand up and move onto the bus. 

~~~

Alex walks slowly next to Tobin and her walker through the stadium. She had never actually been in the locker room but Tobin needed help moving her stuff out of her locker. They run into a lot of the coaching staff and front office so it takes almost an hour just to get to the locker room.

Tobin starts pulling her stuff out of the locker while Alex looks at the small enclosure the Texans had built around her locker. Alex smiles at the artwork Tobin has taped to her locker walls. She starts carefully pulling them off then stops when she gets to the family picture they had taken after the first home game a few months ago. Tobin is standing in full gear with one arm around Alex and the other supporting Riley who has the family pair of noise cancelling headphones on. The other three children are standing at their feet. Everyone but Riley is smiling at the camera.

~~~

Tobin pauses halfway up the stairs and looks down at her foot that isn’t quite cooperating with her brain. She reaches down with the hand not gripping the railing and pulls on her pants, helping the lifting process. 

“Hey Tobin, where do you guys-What are you doing?” Kelley’s voice changes instantly from inquisitive to panic. She places Riley on the floor and rushes up the stairs behind Tobin.

“I forgot my phone.”

“Why didn’t you use the lift?” 

“I wanted to try it on my own. I can walk.”

“Yeah you can walk but what if your foot got stuck and you fell.”

“I was leaning forward. If I fell, I’d fall like a foot then roll over and sit down.”

“Tobin, that was still really stupid. You need to take it easy. If you get hurt while I’m here Alex will not only kill me but she’d probably kill you too.” She takes Tobin’s free arm and puts it over her shoulder. “Let’s get you upstairs and you will take the lift down.”

Tobin grumbles but lets Kelley half carry her up the stairs. “Thanks,” she mumbles as she uses the wall to steady herself. 

Kelley stops, one foot on the stairs. She glances down at Riley who is playing with a toy then back at Tobin. “We may not be close but I still care about you. When I heard that you were in the hospital I was worried about you. Not just for Alex or the kids but for  _ you _ . I know how hard it is not to be able to play because of injury. 

“Yours is obviously more serious but I wonder all the time where I’d be if my ankle didn’t give out. You’ve been moping around this whole time about not being able to play at the Super Bowl and I get that but look at what you have, your family. You’re supposed to make a full recovery so this,” Kelley gestures at her and taps the brace covering her torso, “isn’t permanent. You might not play again and yeah that will suck but you’re still you. Your kids will still love you. Alex will still love you.”

Tobin reaches her hand up to her face, wiping her eyes. “I know.”

“Good, cause Alex knows your hurting. She just doesn’t know how to help you and you kinda shut down whenever she tries to bring it up. Maybe you don’t need to see someone but at least talk to her about it. Placate her. There are other sports psychologists out there if you don’t want to use your team one.”

Tobin nods but stays silent 

“How about after we put the kids to bed tonight we crack open some beers and get a little drunk?”

Tobin grins, “And this is why I’m surprised Alex chose you as the caretaker of our children for a week.”

*~~~*

Tobin sits in the lounge chair next to Kelley. They both look out at the pool, lit up by the underwater lights. Kelley hands Tobin an open beer bottle than opens her own. “So I don’t know if it’s really going to lead to anything,” Kelley explains, having drunkenly told Tobin she possibly met someone. They were both three beers in all filters were off. “She doesn’t live in LA or really anywhere close. It’s hard for her to get time off most of the time because she has such a crazy work schedule. We talk a lot but it’s normally not super deep.”

“How did you meet?” Tobin asks, looking up at the sky.

Kelley chooses her words carefully, hoping she doesn’t slip up. “She was in LA for work. We met through a mutual friend and just kinda clicked. It wasn’t even a set up. I don’t even know if she’s looking for someone.”

Tobin turns to Kelley. “She gay though right?” 

Kelley nods. “Yeah. We bonded over attractive Alex is.”

Tobin points a finger at Kelley. “Hey.”

“Kidding,” Kelley holds up her hands, internally slapping herself.

“Better be.” Tobin returns to looking up. “You could broach the subject by asking about one of those dating apps or something. Ask her for help with your profile or something.”

“But if I ask her for help and she thinks we’re sorta maybe something she might change her mind cause she’ll think I don’t like her.”

“I’m not sober enough to figure this out right now.”

“Even sober I can’t figure it out,” Kelley replies.

“Does she know you’re here?” Tobin asks.

“Yeah. She’s been asking about how you’re doing every morning.”

“Every morning?”

Kelley shrugs. “She has weird hours so she’s normally not doing anything at like ten so she’ll text to see what we’re up to and stuff.”

Tobin pushes herself up and fully turns towards Kelley. “That means one of two things.” Kelley rolls onto her side, ready for Tobin’s drunk but inspiring wisdom. “Either she’s a reporter and is trying to get info on my recovery.” Kelley shakes her head. “Or she’s just looking for an excuse to talk to you.”

“Well she’s not a reporter…Trust me.”

“So she likes you,” Tobin grins.

Kelley flops onto her back. “So what?” she groans. “We met once a month ago and talked for a few hours. We’ve never done anything. She’s like a thousand miles away. What would a relationship even be? We can’t even go on a first date.”

“What about virtual? You guys could try sexting.”

Kelley rolls back over. “Do you and Alex sext?”

“We have a few times. When she’s gone for a long time like for France last year. The kids were all with her parents at night and I would put Riley down for a nap. It wasn’t always perfect but it got the job done.”

Kelley looks down at the cushion she’s lying on then back at Tobin. “Have you guys had sex on these chairs?”

Tobin looks down at them, thinking hard. “No. These are new. We got them just before Christmas.”

“What about in the pool?”

“Oh, yeah. All over.”

“And you let your kids play in it?”

Tobin shrugs. “The chemicals kill it all.”

“Where have you not had sex?”

Tobin thinks, taking a long chug of her beer. “The gara- wait nevermind. Um.” She remembers one of their first goals when moving in was to christen every room in the house multiple times. “We didn’t do it on your bed.” They had done it on the floor and in the bathroom of that particular guest room but the thought of their parents sleeping on a bed they had, had sex on was too much for them. 

“What about the kids?”

“Same. Not on their beds. We’d be horrible parents.”

“But in their rooms?”

Tobin shrugs nonchalantly. “We didn’t have them yet. They were just rooms.”

“What about either of your locker rooms?”

Tobin thinks long and hard and shakes her head. “Professionally no. In college we did it a lot in the soccer locker room. The football one was a little harder to get her in and out of but we did it once or twice. Oh and senior year of high school after everyone had gone home we totally showered together.”

“Eww,” Kelley gags. “Those showers were nasty already.”

“It was hard to do anything at home cause of the parents and we wanted to mix it up a bit.”

“Do you know that Alex told me about your first time?”

Tobin shrugs. “I figured she told you or Syd.”

“She also told us about all your make up sex after you guys got back together.”

Tobin is too drunk to be embarrassed. “We had a lot of time to make up for and not a lot of time to do it.”

“You guys ruined that park off Lincoln for me. I used to love going their then Alex told me about how often you guys went there. I couldn’t go without thinking about it.”

Tobin laughs and sets her empty bottle down. “I totally forgot about that.” Tobin smirks. “Did she tell you about slingshotting her bra up into a tree and we couldn’t get it down.” Kelley shakes her head. “It was there for like a month. And it was right next to the playground. You’re probably not the only one we ruined the park for.”

“When did you stop acting like crazy sexed up teenagers?”

“Um...I don’t know. Let’s call her.” Tobin grins and pulls her phone from her pocket. She Facetimes Alex and turns the phone so both are in the shot.

It rings a few times before Alex answers. “Hello?” she asks confused. It looks like she’s in her hotel room. 

“Hey babe.” Tobin greets. “Kel and I have a question for you.”

“Uh okay.”

“Kel was wondering when we stopped having sex like teenagers?”

A few of Alex’s teammates that are also in the room start laughing as Alex turns red. 

“No that’s not what I asked,” Kelley corrects. “I asked when you stopped acting like horny teenagers.”

Alex blinks at them for a few seconds, trying to comprehend how she has been put in this situation. “Are you guys drunk?” she asks when she sees the beer in Kelley’s hand.

“A little,” Tobin grins. 

“Where are the kids?”

“Asleep. Don’t worry. They’re fine.”

“How would you know?”

Kelley holds up the baby monitor. “They haven’t made a peep.” Kelley looks at the silver machine. “Wait. How do you know if this is on?”

Alex puts her hand over her eyes. “Please tell me I’m not going to go to jail for killing you both. Wait Tobs,” Alex suddenly recalls, “you shouldn’t be drinking with your meds.”

Tobin shakes her head, the camera shaking more than Tobin does. “I haven’t taken them in days.”

Alex groans, “Please go check on the kids and maybe stop drinking while you’re in charge of my four children.”

“Fine, party pooper,” Kelley salutes. 

Tobin hangs up and Alex drops the phone onto the bed.

“So that was Tobin and…” Emily questions.

“Kelley, my friend from high school. She’s supposed to be looking after all of them and helping Tobin out.”

“I’m sure they’re fine. I doubt either of them would put your kids in danger.”

“I didn’t really think they would be bonding like this.”

“Why not?” Emily asks.

“They had a sort of falling out in high school and were really only friendly because me. I figured it would be good for Tobs because she might be a little stricter than I am.” Alex shakes her head. “Getting drunk wasn’t really something I saw for either of them this week.”

*~~~*

Alex stands as the door opens and Tobin slowly shuffles out. Alex can see Tobin’s eyes are red and puffy as they have been after her past few appointments. She smiles at her wife and moves closer to her. She pushes the door open a little more to make it easier for her to move through with her walker. They slowly make their way out of the small waiting room towards their car. Alex helps Tobin in then puts the walker in the trunk. Once they have pulled out of the driveway, Alex finally dares to ask, “How was it?”

Tobin shrugs. “Fine.”

“Did you make another appointment?”

Tobin nods. “Yeah. Friday, but if your busy I can get a ride.”

Alex shakes her head. “You know I’ll take you.”

They keep moving through their day. Alex, chauffeuring Tobin to physical therapy, the pharmacy, then to pick up the kids from their various schools. Once home, Alex helps everyone into the house before heading back out to get their groceries for the week.

Tobin sits at the kitchen, helping Charina with her homework as the other color and Riley crawls around. Riley throws one of his balls under the couch and starts crying. Tobin looks over and drops her head, knowing she’s too tired to do what is required to get the ball. “Char, can you get his toy. It rolled under the couch.”

Charina nods and walks to help the toddler. Tobin rubs her eyes with her thumb and forefinger, thinking about what the psychologist had told her that morning. 

Two hours later Alex walks in to find Tobin in her wheelchair, something she hadn’t seen in a few weeks.  Tobin looks up with a smile and rolls towards Alex. 

“Are you okay?” she asks, looking at the wheelchair.

“Yeah. My legs were tired.” Tobin reaches up for one of the bags Alex is holding. “Want me to take something?”

Alex smiles and leans down to give her a kiss. “I’ve got these but wanna help me with the rest of the car. We can load up your chair and I’ll push you in.” Tobin rolls herself around Alex, out the front door and down to Alex’s car. 

Alex can tell Tobin feels a little lighter as they interact with their kids and each other. Once the children are all put to bed Alex comes back down stairs where Tobin is still on their large couch. Alex collapses next to her and pulls her legs onto her lap. She starts massaging Tobin’s quads while they both have their focus on the television.

“Lex?”

Alex turns towards her wife. “Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you about my appointment?”

Alex smiles and nods, fully turning towards Tobin. “Of course.”

Tobin plays with her wedding band which she has taken to wearing on a necklace around her neck. “So we’ve been talking about a lot of things” Tobin takes a breath before continuing. “A lot about how I feel like a burden.”

Alex reaches her hand out for Tobin’s. “You’re not a burden.”

“But I feel like I am. You spent most of the day driving me around then after went to do other errands. You’ve spent all day doing things for everyone but yourself.”

“I don’t mind doing that babe. If you don’t want me to drive you anymore we can order a car service but I like spending time with you. I’m not going to be able to do this with you for much longer with the season starting.”

Tobin shakes her head. “It’s how I feel. I’ve been having a hard time asking for help and taking help. I’ve been pushing myself a lot to not need the chair and to take the walker even when it makes it harder on everyone around me because then I don’t have to ask for help. I had to have Charina go help Riley earlier because I was too exhausted to even stand. I know I’m healing so this won’t be forever but I need to realize what I’m doing to you and our family while I’m getting better.”

“I love you and you will never be a burden but it’s been hard watching you go through this. I’m really glad you decided to talk to someone because I’ve seen how hard it’s been for you trying to take this on all on your own emotionally.”

Tobin rubs the back of Alex’s hand as she gathers her thoughts. “So we also have talked about the possibility of me retiring.”

“Who brought that up?” Alex asks.

“Both kinda. She was asking about if I couldn’t come back and how I would handle that.”

“So you’re thinking about retiring.”

“I might have to. Docs still haven’t said I’ll be cleared to play. I could never regain full strength. I might have a limp. I’ve been so scared that I won’t get back. We talked about things I could do once I’m done, whether that be this year or later. I think not putting a date on it helped.”

“So what did you say you wanted to do, I know you’ve thought about coaching but…”

Tobin wiggles her legs a little bit, feeling a twinge in her muscles. “We talked about coaching but who would I coach. Professionally, I could probably be an assistant to the special teams coach for kick offs and extra points. College I could probably get a special teams job at a lower D one. Then we also talked about high school. That was when I was most worried about my ability and where I think I could make the biggest impact. Helping players develop not only on the field but gain the confidence to succeed in all aspects. She even suggested doing clinics around the country where I could work with girls.”

Alex rubs Tobin’s lower leg. “I think you would be good at working with kids. Not that you wouldn’t be good at other levels but I think you’re more laid back which would make you better to work with high schoolers.”

“She said if I’m not able to play this season but am still on the fence I should ask if I can help out with the kickers. I’m not sure yet what they’re gonna do with the draft but we’ll see.” 

“Are there any good place kickers in the draft?”

“There’s one or two decent ones but I wanna wait to see how they do in the combine first.” 

“If you end up needing to sit out the season you could volunteer at one of the high schools. I’m sure any school would love to say they have you on staff.”

Tobin nods and glances over at the television. “Do you think you could carry me upstairs?” she asks softly, something she hasn’t let Alex do except for transfers when her arms were too weak.

“Of course.” Alex squeezes Tobin’s hand before getting up. “You seem really good Tobs. Lighter.”

“I know I’m losing muscle mass. No need to rub it in.”

Alex is about to explain what she meant when she sees Tobin smirk. Instead of moving to lift Tobin she climbs on top of her wife, kissing her passionately. 

~~~

Tobin leans into her walker, tired from the long day. She turns to Alex who is standing near the grill, putting candles into the blue and purple drip cake. “Babe,” Alex looks up, “can you get my chair?”

Alex nods, “Your legs tired?” 

“Yeah.”

Alex pulls over a bar stool and places it behind Tobin. The footballer sits down and Alex kisses the top of her head. “Thank you for helping today. I really appreciate it. Charina was really happy you were able to play with her and her friends, even if only for a little bit.” Tobin smiles while Alex walks away. 

A minute later, Alex comes back outside, pushing Tobin’s wheelchair. She locks the wheels then helps her wife stand and transfers her into the chair. “You want me to push you over to the table?”

“No, I got it.”

Alex nods and walks back to the candles. “Can you go tell the kids it’s time for cake?”

Tobin looks at the tall, colorful candles Alex has perfectly placed. “How is she eight?”

Alex shakes her head and looks up. “I don’t even know?”

“Remember when she didn’t talk?”

Alex huffs out a laugh. “I don’t remember what quiet is.”

They look to where the twenty kids are loudly playing some complicated version of tag the two adults can’t comprehend.

~~~

Tobin wakes up to an empty bed. She pushes herself up to a sitting position and looks around. “Alex?” she calls, getting no response. She looks towards the closet where they had left her walker the night before, opting for Alex to carry her to the bath to soak after a hard day of physical therapy then to bed. 

Tobin groans and rotates her body so her legs are dangling off the bed. She pushes herself off, hoping her legs will catch her, which they thankfully do. Using the bed for support, she moves closer towards the bathroom. When she reaches the foot of the bed she looks down at her legs then starts moving across the floor. Halfway to her walker she starts losing her balance. She gets two more steps before falling with a thud. 

Tobin pulls herself to the wall when the bedroom door bursts open. Alex looks around wildly for a second before seeing Tobin and moving to her. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“My legs are just super tired and haven’t fully woken up. We left the walker in the closet last night. I’m fine just help me to the bathroom.” Alex lifts Tobin and mostly drags her to the bathroom. She leans her against the wall before walking to the sink to give her a little space and privacy. “The kids off to school?” Tobin asks as she situates herself.

“Yeah, Derek’s eating, and Riley was playing with his food when I heard you fall.”

“When’s the new sitter coming over?”

“Her name’s Hailey and about an hour.”

“You ready for preseason?”

“Little worried about leaving you.”

“I’ll be fine. Just help me downstairs. Derek and I will watch ESPN, I’ll use the GameReady, then I’ll be good as new.”

“If you insist.”

~~~

Tobin walks into the backyard and sets Riley down in the grass with a few toys next to her lounge chair. She looks at where Charina is playing with a few of her friends from school in the sprinkler.  Sophia and Derek were with Alex in Orlando for a game so it was just the three of them for the weekend. Tobin walks back inside to grab the plate of watermelon she had cut. She places it on the bar and grabs a slice for herself. 

Tobin turns back towards the lounge chair and sees Riley standing, slowly waddling towards her.

“Holy crap!” she pats her empty pockets for her phone. She slowly walks towards him with her arms out. “Charina,” Tobin calls, “look.” Tobin stops a few feet away and kneels. He makes it two more steps before falling backwards. Tobin quickly scoops him up and brings him into a tight hug. 

After a few minutes, she leaves him with Charina and her friends who are trying to make him walk again while she moves as quickly as possible to find her phone. She Facetimes Alex as she heads back outside. Alex ignores it so she calls again.

“I can’t really talk right now, is everything okay?”

“Riley, just took his first steps.”

“What?”

“We were outside and I was doing something for the girls and I looked over and he was walking towards me.” Tobin walks outside. “Hold on, the girls are trying to get him to do it again.” Tobin turns the video around. Riley is being helped to his feet with Charina a few feet away calling to him. Tobin looks at Alex’s face as Riley starts walking towards his sister. 

“Why couldn’t he wait two days? Then we could have all been there.”

“He wanted to perfect it by the time you got home.”

“Ugh. I gotta go to my meeting. Send me a video so I can show the team. I’ll call you later. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

~~~

Tobin walks into the home office where Alex is looking over some contracts. She silently watches her wife, not wanting to disturb her. “Hey babe,” Alex barely glances up but senses Tobin’s presence. “Did Gillian send you this Nike extension?”

Tobin shakes her head. “No but I have like two years left on the one I’m already on.” Alex hums and starts circling or underlining words on the first sheet. “If you’re busy I can come back.”

“No,” Alex circles a word then puts her pen down. “What up?”

“I was wondering what you wanted to do with the kids during camp.”

“What do you mean? They were just gonna stay home with you.”

Tobin shakes her head. “Not your camp. Mine. West Virginia.”

Alex stares at Tobin, not moving. 

“Babe.”

The soccer player blinks and snaps out of it. “What do you mean? Why are you going to camp?”

“Because it’s my job. I’m not playing for at least the first month of the season. We know that. But I can still kick. I just can’t do contact yet.”

“But we talked. I thought you were...You said…”

“We talked about me possibly retiring if I wasn’t able to come back but I’m healthy. I’m basically fully healed and will be back to preinjury status in a few months.”

“They got a kicker though.”

“Yeah, they picked up a free agent until I’m back. They can’t just wait for me and not have a kicker. The guys good but I’m better. As soon as I’m cleared I have a spot on that team. Brian said if I’m back to my usual I have a place.”

“What if you get injured again? We were so lucky this time. The next time it could be permanent, it could be worse.”

“Yeah, I know, but this is who I am. I play football. I don’t want to end it being carried off the field. When it does end, I want it to be my decision. I want to choose when I’ve had enough.”

Alex sighs. “Okay, but that’s not who you are. It’s a part of you but you are more than just football.” She stands up and walks to Tobin wrapping her in a tight hug. “You are my wife, the mother to our children, and an all around amazing person. I worry about you and I’m going to worry even more now that I’ve seen first-hand how badly you can get injured.”

“And you thought me breaking my foot was bad,” Tobin jokes.

“You’ve made that joke a thousand times and it has not been funny once.”

“By now I’m just hoping for a pity laugh.”

“You’ll never get it from me, babe.”

Tobin sighs and kisses Alex softly. “I don’t want to make you worry but this is my job.”

Alex nods, “I know. I just was kinda hoping you were retiring cause we had talked about it.”

“I think I was still in the chair when we talked about it.”

“I know it was hypothetical and we weren’t sure how much you were actually gonna heal but it was wishful thinking.” Alex stares into Tobin’s eyes. “I’m still going to be worried about you.”

“You’ve been worried about me since before we started dating and I dislocated my shoulder.”

“I’ll be worried about you until you retire and probably even after that.”

~~~

Tobin sits in the Portland stadium with a few of Alex’s national team teammates and her kids. Tobin glances over at Emily who is holding Riley. Riley is asleep with the orange noise cancelling headphones protecting his ears from the loud stadium. The Portland fans welcomed the Dash with open arms as they took on the Reign for the title.

“What are you doing during the off season?” Tobin asks Emily.

Emily shrugs. “I’ll probably head down to Atlanta, visit my sister and family. Maybe hop around a bit see friends. There’s still camps and stuff so you know it’s never really off season.”

“Yeah,” Tobin nods. “If you’re ever in a city where there’s a game just let me know and I can get you tickets.”

“Thanks. I’m not really sure where I’ll be and if you’re playing the Falcons I won’t be rooting for you but I won’t boo you too loudly.”

Tobin rolls her eyes. “I’ll stick you up in the nosebleed section so I won’t hear you. It’ll probably be safer for you anyways. My kids get feisty.”

Emily laughs. “Yeah. Alex showed us the video from a game. They could teach trash talk.”

~~~

Tobin crawls up Alex’s body, the two out of breath and coated in a layer of sweat from not only the Texas heat but also their activities which had been going on for over an hour. Tobin rolls and collapses on the pillows then rests her head on her wife’s shoulder. 

“Remember back in high school...before we started dating?”

“Which part?”

“Nothing in particular. I was kinda just wondering when you started to like me and why.”

“This comes to you now...moments after I was grinding your face?”

Tobin smirks. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Since the hit. I’m so thankful you didn’t leave me. I-”

Alex turns to look at her wife.“You think I would leave you if you were paralyzed?”

“No but if I had needed all that help for the rest of my life I wouldn’t blame you.” Tobin starts tracing swirls on Alex’s stomach. “I was basically a fifth kid and you lost a parenting partner. I’m not saying it would have happened right away but it could have become tiring. I would have understood if it became too much.”

“I didn’t lose you and you’re a kid whether you’re in a chair or on your feet. Tobin, until your dying breath I will always love you and I will always be whatever you need me to be. I love you so much.”

“So once I die, how long are you gonna wait?”

Alex shrugs and looks back up at the ceiling. “An acceptable amount of time... like a week, maybe two if you get a lot of press.”

Tobin blows forcefully into Alex’s ear.

“No, but seriously, I can’t imagine going to bed with anyone but you. Maybe if you go young I would be able to open up again eventually but once we’re old I’ll just enjoy the life we had together, live through the memories.” Alex looks back down into Tobin’s eyes. “Is that a better answer?”

Tobin shrugs. “I guess but how early do you think I’m going to die?”

“This was all hypothetical.”

“I will die at some point.”

“Yeah but who says I’m not right next to your corpse already dead too.” The two lay silently for a minute. “Okay so I think I realized I liked you long after I had actually started liking you.”

“What do you mean?”

“So Jeri was senior when you were a freshman and as you know a cheerleader. When you got moved up to varsity she talked about it. I was kinda fascinated by you. Why football? I went to almost every one of your games after that. I told my parents it was to see Jeri but I watched you a lot of the time. You barely talked to anyone that year and you looked so small.”

“I still look small.”

“Not in the same way. Now you’re confident and hold yourself up, back then you couldn’t be small enough.”

Tobin look at Alex skeptically. “So you’ve basically been stalking me since you were in middle school.”

“Stalking no. Once football was done I kinda forgot about you. Jeri was graduating and I was trying to make my club team. I saw you again during preseason. You were more confident. Back then I think I just thought you were super cool and popular and I was a timid ninth grader.” Alex adjusts her position then continues. “After that I kinda was intimidated by you but also wanted to be your friend but you hung out with all the cool seniors and why would you talk to some freshman. 

“I went to almost all the home games that year and honestly probably watched you more than the game. Then soccer and football ended and I stopped seeing you everyday. We didn’t have lunch together that year so I barely saw you in school until Dom and Syd got together. Then at least our paths crossed a few times a week.”

“Do you remember the party after they first got together?” Tobin asks. “The huge one at the house in Cedar Point, I don’t remember whose.”

“Uh… probably not but why?”

“You were a little drunk but you came into the kitchen and I saw you. I’d seen you before and stuff but I don’t know… It had been a while and you were wearing… I don’t even remember what you were wearing but you looked good and I maybe had a slight crush. I was working up the nerve to go talk to you. It took me a few minutes to figure out what I was gonna say but I finally did then as I was walking over some of the soccer players came over and you weren’t alone anymore so I lost my nerve and kept going.”

Alex smiles and reaches to rub Tobin’s cheek. “What was gonna be your big line?”

“Not a clue. Probably something super original like ‘hey’.”

“Hey.” Alex ponders the word for a moment. “Could have worked. Then I’d say hey back. What was your next plan?”

“You’re asking a lot here, let me think.” Tobin looks up at the ceiling. “Maybe something like ‘Have you seen Dom?’”

“Nope.” Alex shakes her head. “Haven’t seen him.”

Tobin looks at Alex for a second then keeps up the charade. “Oh I just figured he was with Syd.”

“Yeah, probably. I haven’t seen her either. They’re probably dancing.”

“This is where I would have awkwardly stood there nodding my head while wanting to ask you to dance.”

“You want a beer?”

“No thanks… ‘*holds up red solo cup of water*’...I’m good.”

Alex laughs, “Thank goodness your game improved or we wouldn’t be here.”

“Yeah, who knows which of your teammates I would have ended up with.”

“We should do role playing more often.”

Tobin grins. “Maybe another time. I’m a little exhausted.”

Alex tightens her grip around Tobin’s shoulder. “We haven’t done  _ that  _ since before the kids.”

~~~

Alex sits in the stands, thankful that there are others there to watch her kids, who had been extremely misbehaving, so she could focus more on Tobin. Her wife had been on the field twice so far, luckily she hadn’t come close to getting tackled. The line in front of her seemed super keen on not letting anyone through and it was working.

The game ends with the only contact to Tobin being her foot against the ball and Alex lets out the breath that she was holding in. “You good?” Emily asks with a grin. Alex nods and takes Riley from her lap, the squirming toddler calming her even more. She hugs him tight for a few seconds.

A few hours later, the group sits in a private room eating dinner. Tobin leans towards Alex over Riley’s high chair. “Have they met before?” She gestures with her head towards Kelley and Emily who are on the opposite side of the table laughing together.

Alex shrugs. “I don’t think so. Em wasn’t at the wedding but I don’t know. Maybe after a US game or something for the kids. They acted like they didn’t know each other earlier when I introduced them.”

“So why is Em in LA again?” They look at the two again, “You don’t think…”

Alex waits a few beats, studying Kelley’s face, before nodding her head, “I kinda do.”

“Is Em…?”

Alex nods. “Yeah.”

“Is Kelley single?”

“She said she was talking to someone a month or two ago. I kinda figured nothing came of it.”

Riley starts making a mess, distracting the two from their gossip.

~~~

Alex comes downstairs after putting the two older kids to bed. She looks around for Tobin then heads to the theater where Tobin is watching game film. “You almost done in here?” Alex asks.

Tobin nods, not looking up instead looking down at her binder. “I have like two more plays to go through.”

Alex turns around, knowing that means at least twenty minutes with how many times Tobin pauses and rewinds film. She heads upstairs and puts on a mid-thigh, tight, black dress and heels. She checks her reflection as she touches up her make-up then heads back down stairs. Alex turns the music on softly then heads to the bar outside, pulling a beer from the mini fridge.

She takes a sip as she starts to scroll through instagram. A few minutes later Tobin opens the sliding glass door. “What are you doing out here? Why’d you change?” Tobin eyebrows are pushed together as she looks over Alex’s dress.

Alex sets her phone down and looks up at Tobin. “I’m sorry. Who are you?”

Tobin tilts her head to the side in confusion. Alex waits patiently, smirking at Tobin. “What’s going on?”

Alex rolls her eyes. “We can’t go to an actual bar and do this. Someone would recognize us in an instant, and I’m not about to have  _ this  _ publicized, so I figure this,” Alex places her hand on the stone countertop, “could be our bar but at like a house party or something.”

Tobin nods for a few seconds, putting everything together. “Okay.” She holds up a finger. “I’ll be right back. Start over.” Tobin goes back inside and Alex picks up her phone again.

Fifteen minutes later the door opens again. Tobin comes out in a black and gray baseball tee, ripped, white jeans, some make-up, and her hair brushed. She saunters over to the bar, not paying Alex any attention. Alex glances up from her phone and rolls her eyes before taking another sip of her almost empty bottle. Tobin leans against the bar in front of Alex and pops the top off her own bottle. 

“Hi.”

Alex locks eyes with her wife for a second. “Hi.” 

“What are you doing hiding out here when everyone else is inside?”

Alex shrugs and looks back at her phone. “It was loud. I needed some air.”

“Tobin.” Tobin holds out her hand.

Alex glances up, raising an eyebrow. She glances down at Tobin’s offered hand then after some deliberation reaches out to take it. “Alex,” she offers.

Tobin squeezes Alex’s hand. “Mind if I stay out here with you? I could use some fresh air myself.” Alex shrugs non committedly. “Want another beer?”

The two talk, pretending to get to know each other’s alter ego. 

“So,” Alex reaches forward and tucks a strand of hair behind her wife’s ear, “you really think I’d be impressed that you play football.”

Tobin shrugs. “It’s the truth. You don’t have to believe me.”

“I’m not saying I don’t believe you,” Alex rasps, “just that you’re gonna have to work harder and be a little more interesting that ‘I play football’.”

Tobin takes Alex’s hand between her own. She flips it and looks down at Alex’s palm. “You have very soft hands.”

“Thanks. I moisturize.”

“Ah,” Tobin nods, rubbing the pads of her thumb over Alex’s palm. “I’m sure your boyfriend appreciates it.”

Alex snickers at Tobin’s statement before regaining her composure. She pulls her hand out of Tobin’s grasp and grabs her drink. “Nope, no boyfriend,” She takes a sip. “Or girlfriend.”

Tobin grins and leans close. “Ah, so you are into me, I was getting a little worried.”

“Um what? I was kinda waiting for you to leave. I’m very not interested.”

“Oh, well then just tell me to go and I will.”

Alex locks eyes with Tobin. “Make me a drink first.”

“As you wish.” Tobin takes a few steps to the fridge and pulls out a soda and a bottle of rum, thankful the kids are young enough that they don’t have to lock up their alcohol yet. Tobin looks around, “Uh, we don’t have any cups out here.”

Alex shrugs and picks up her phone. 

Tobin unscrews the rum bottle and places it down next to Alex. She walks around the counter and can tell Alex is watching her but keeps tapping on her phone randomly. Tobin pops open the can and sets it down next to the rum. She waits but Alex doesn’t look up so she reaches and takes Alex’s phone out of her hands. Alex turns to complain but the look in Tobin’s eyes silence her. Tobin places the phone down then grabs the stool Alex sits on and forcefully turns it so Alex’s back is against the bar. 

Tobin reaches back, gripping a handful of Alex’s hair and forcefully pulling her head back. She grabs the rum bottle and moves it towards Alex’s lips. “Open up.”

Alex grins and partially opens her mouth. Tobin tilts the bottle and lets a few splashes of the amber liquid fall out. Alex swallows and Tobin switches to grab the coke. Tobin lets go of Alex’s hair once the soda has been placed down. Alex licks her lips.

“So, I guess I’ll head back in now that you’ve had your drink.” Tobin starts to head into the house.

“But …,” Alex stutters.

Tobin turns around. “You said you wanted me to go after making you a drink.” 

“That was just a shot. I...I’m still thirsty.”

“I can tell,” Tobin mutters under her breath as she walks back towards her wife. “What can I do for you?”

Alex leans back, tilting her head. “I’m still thirsty,” she repeats.

Tobin takes a final step in and regrabs the bottle. She pours the liquid into Alex’s waiting mouth while Alex’s hand rubs the back of Tobin’s thigh.

Some of the liquid hits Alex’s lip and slides down her cheek. Alex licks her lips but it doesn’t get everything. Tobin leans in and licks up the spilled liquid. Alex’s breathing hitches as Tobin hovers over her, feeling her hot breath. “Fuck,” Alex groans before grabbing Tobin’s face and connecting their lips.

Soon Tobin is pushin Alex up against the counter as she pushes their bodies together. Tobin holds her hips tightly. Alex moans softly into her. One hand cups her shoulder while the other quickly undoes the button of Tobin’s jeans. 

~~~

“I don’t wanna go,” Charina pouts, stomping her foot for emphasis. 

“You don’t have a choice Char,” Tobin pleads, slightly used to her daughter’s temper tantrums in regards to her job.

“I hate football.”

Tobin groans. “I know you do but you can’t stay home alone. You can watch tv the whole time you just need to get in the car.”

“No.” She crosses her arms and glares at Tobin.

“Charina, I’m not messing around with you. Get in the car. NOW.”

Charina shakes her head, her face getting red.

Tobin looks at her watch, she’s already gonna be late. “This is your last chance or I’m gonna carry you.” Charina squints her eyes and grits her teeth. Tobin sighs and walks to where her daughter is standing. She bends down and picks her up. Kicking and screaming, Tobin carries her to the car. She opens the door and puts her in. 

Derek starts talking about Tennessee, repeating a bunch of things Tobin had told him that morning. Charina tells him to shut up which causes Tobin to yell at her and they still have forty minutes more of their drive and about two hours before Alex can meet her.

When they get to the stadium it’s a hassle to get the girl out of the car until Tobin threatens her Christmas presents. She mopes the entire way to the locker room. Her coach is not pleased when she gets there. “We had a few issues this morning.” 

She sets her two kids up in a room while she goes to change, texting Alex.

**Queen Wifey: Char had another meltdown. I’m gonna get fined for being late**

Just before she goes to the treatment room her phone buzzes. 

**Lex: Sorry. I would have taken her with me if I’d known. I’ll be there in like 45 minutes.**

**Queen Wifey: Just letting you know what you’re walking into**

She picks up a roll of prewrap and is about to start wrapping it around her wrist when she hears a shattering crash.

Tobin walks in her front door a few hours later and slams it shut behind her. Alex puts down the sponge she was using to clean up from their dinner and looks at where three of their children are watching television. They all run towards her and Alex can hear them talking for a few minutes. Alex waits in the kitchen, puttering around until Tobin moves into her sight line. “Hey,” she says calmly.

“Hi.” Tobin replies not as calmly.

“I already talked to her.”

“I can’t believe she did that. She could have seriously hurt someone.” Alex nods, letting Tobin vent. “I’m not allowed to bring them with me anymore on game day. If I have to, I need to tell them with enough time so that they can get a sitter and put them in a suite.”

“She knows she did wrong.”

“She knows it every single time yet she keeps doing it. I don’t know what’s going on with her.”

“She’s a kid.”

“I need to talk to her.”

“You can. Tomorrow though. Let her calm down. She’s still really upset. Go to school and you can talk to her after. She doesn’t have anything so I’ll make sure she does her homework right when she gets home.”

“I’m gonna go workout. You want me to put any of them to bed.” 

Alex nods, “That would be great. Could you put Riley down and get the other two to brush their teeth and change? Let Charina be.”

Tobin nods and heads back to where her kids are and herding them up the stairs. Alex continues cleaning up and starts getting everything ready for the next day. She hears Tobin come down and head for their home gym. Alex finishes up downstairs then heads up to put the remainder of their children to bed. She changes into her workout attire, an old warm up shirt and game shorts. She grabs the baby monitor and heads down to her wife. 

Through the glass wall she can see Tobin in a sports bra and her practice shorts. She is covered in a sheen of sweat as she squats with a hex bar. Alex steps in and Tobin looks over for a moment before continuing. “They all in bed?”

Alex watches her stand up with a grunt before dropping the weight. “Yeah.” 

Tobin turns towards her with her hands on her hips, out of breath. “You gonna work out?”

Alex shrugs. “I figured I would come give you company if you’re gonna keep going. I had to cut my run short this morning.”

“What were you gonna do?”

“Probably just jog, nothing major.”

Tobin steps to where she put her towel down to wipe her face. Alex glances at the scars on her back from the screws that had been inserted at the beginning to keep anything from slipping. Tobin puts the towel around her neck and looks at Alex. “What do you say we do a different kind of workout?”

Alex smirks. “Like Zumba?”

Tobin shuts the music off then starts to move towards Alex. “Yeah, something like that.” Tobin steps into Alex, lifting her by the hips. Alex wraps her legs around Tobin’s waist just as Tobin pushes her against the glass. 

“Tob-”

“Shut up,” Tobin growls before pushing their lips together. They spend a few minutes in this position before Tobin pulls back. She reaches for the door handle and pulls it open. Tobin carries Alex up the stairs while she kisses Tobin’s neck. Alex focuses on Tobin’s skin but can tell they are headed for their bedroom. She expects Tobin to drop her on the bed but the surface is hard. Alex glances over Tobin’s shoulder and realizes they’re in their bathroom. 

Tobin pulls away and walks towards the shower. She turns on the water so it’s coming out of all three shower heads. Tobin kicks her sneakers off walks back to Alex. “Lift your hips,” Tobin commands. She hooks her fingers into Alex’s shorts and underwear and as soon as Alex pushes herself up, Tobin pulls them off. Tobin drops to her knees and pulls Alex to the edge of the counter.

Alex quickly spreads her legs and runs her fingers over Tobin’s damp hair. Alex brings her legs up and soon she is digging her toes into the skin over Tobin’s shoulders. She leans back against the mirror, stroking the top of Tobin’s head as her wife continues using her tongue and lips.

“Tobs,” Alex sighs out of breath, her eyes unable to stay open.

A hand comes up and covers Alex’s mouth for a moment. Alex can taste herself on Tobin’s fingers. Alex sucks one into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it. 

Tobin pulls back right as Alex gets close, much to the soccer player’s dismay. Tobin steps back and starts to pull off her clothes as she walks to the shower. “Let’s go,” Tobin commands. She pulls open the glass door and steps into the steamy space. Alex slides off the counter, finishes stripping, and follows after her wife. As soon as she steps in, Tobin pushes her against the wall and slides her fingers in to pick up where she left off. Tobin moves her lips to Alex’s neck and holds her against the wall. Alex’s raises on leg up onto the bench, spreading herself to give Tobin more access.  

“What’s gotten into you?” Alex pants. Tobin ignores her question and continues pleasuring her wife. “Tobs,” Alex tries again. Tobin continues to ignore her but starts using her thumb. Alex’s head falls back into the wall. It takes Alex a few minutes before she’s able to refocus. 

“Babe.” Alex pushes Tobin back slightly. “What’s gotten into you?”

“You soon.” Tobin jokes in a serious tone as she moves back in but Alex holds her back.

“Babe.”

Tobin finally gives in. “I’m just really frustrated. Do you want me to stop?”

Alex studies Tobin’s face. She shakes her head and relaxes back against the wall. “No.” She takes Tobin’s hand that isn’t between her legs and guides it to her chest. “I’m perfectly fine with you using my body to vent your frustration.” Alex sighs. “Go ahead.” Tobin immediately dives back in. 

Alex eventually has to tell Tobin to stop when her body can’t take it anymore. After two times in the shower they move to the bed. They took a quick reprieve while Tobin tended to a crying toddler. Alex expected to curl up with her wife but as soon as she walked back in Tobin climbed in between Alex’s legs and picked up where she left off.

~~~

Tobin walks in the door and heads towards the kitchen. She kisses Derek on the top of the head as he tries to put a puzzle together and then walks to Alex, hugging her from behind. “What’s for dinner?” 

“Chili,” Alex responds, turing to kiss Tobin.

“How’s she doing?”

“She seemed fine. A little quiet but not as bad as yesterday.”

Tobin nods, burying her face in Alex’s neck. “How much longer?”

“Like an hour.”

“Okay.” Tobin presses a kiss to Alex’s cheek then steps back and heads upstairs. She checks in on Riley who is napping and Sophia who is drawing on her chalkboard wall. They talk for a minute, Tobin asking her about school. Eventually, she gives her daughter a hug then walks across the hall and knocks on the door frame and peeks her head in. 

Charina looks up from the book she’s reading with sad eyes. “Hey mom.”

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

Tobin walks in and sits on the foot of her bed. She looks at the Harry Potter book for a few seconds then finally locks eyes with her daughter. “We need to talk about yesterday.” The young girl nods. “Mama said she talked to you about having some of your privileges taken away so I’m not going to do that but we still need to talk about your behavior. You know it’s not okay to act like that right?” Charina nods. “I’ve never seen you do something like that before. Do you want to tell me why?”

Charina shakes her head, “I don’t know.”

“Why did you break the window then?”

“I wanted to go home.”

“We sometimes have to do things that we don’t want to do but that doesn’t mean you get to act like that.”

“I wanted you to take me home,” Charina replies, her lip starting to quiver.

Tobin starts to get worried, her mind runs through a thousand scenarios of what could be going on and settles on the worst one she can think of. She reaches out and places a hand on her daughter’s lower leg. “Char, I need you to be honest with me. Is someone there doing anything to you… or your siblings?”

Charina looks down and shakes her head.

“Did someone tell you not to tell me. It’s okay. You’re not in trouble but I need you to tell me the truth. I promise you won’t be in trouble.”

The girl shakes her head again, not looking up to meet Tobin’s eyes. Tobin stands up, sits down next to her, and puts her arm around her daughter’s shoulder. “There has to be a reason you acted like this Char. If we talk about it, I can try to help you. We can work through it.”

Charina mumbles something so softly that Tobin can’t hear. Tobin bends her head. “What’d you say?”

After a few moments she looks up at Tobin, her eyes and cheeks wet. “I don’t want you to get hurt again.”

Tobin processes the statement and after a few moments asks, “Sweetie did you want us leave so I would have to take you home and not play?”

Charina nods. “I don’t want you to die.”

“Char,” Tobin squeezes her tightly. “I love you. I might get injured but I’m not going to die.”

“But…”

“Sweetie, injuries happen. Remember when mama sprained her ankle and she couldn’t play for a few months. She was okay. I broke my foot when I was in college but I’m still playing. We both got better. Injuries happen sweetheart. It just comes with being an athlete.”

“But they’re so big and what if you don’t get better.”

“You’ve been listening to your mother too much. I’m going to keep playing and I would love your support. When I know you’re cheering for me it makes me want to do better. Everything I do is for you, your mama, and your brothers and sister. I made a commitment to my team. I can’t quit on them.”

“But what about me?”

“I love you so much. Nothing will change that. I might get hurt again but that won’t change how much I love you. This is my job.”

“Well your job sucks. It’s boring and stupid.”

Tobin rolls her eyes. “I know you don’t like it but it’s all I have right now. Would you prefer not going to games anymore? We can set up playdates or get you a sitter from now on if that will help.”

Charina shrugs and looks down at her knees. 

“Think about it. I would really love having you there but if you don’t want to be there I’m not going to force you. We just need time to plan what we’re gonna do.” Charina nods but keeps her head down. Tobin leans down and kisses the top of her head. “Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes so finish this chapter then come down.” Tobin stands up and walks out, heading back to her wife.

The two boys are in front of the television as Tobin walks by them to the kitchen. She starts working on setting the table as Alex sips a glass of wine while watching a soccer game on the iPad. Once Tobin is done, she sits next to Alex at the counter. “How’d it go?”

“Kinda heartbreaking actually. She’s basically a mini you. She wanted to go home so I would have to take her. She’s scared I’m going to get hurt again.”

“What’d you say?”

“That she could stay home from now on and we’d get her a sitter if she really wanted.”

“And what about when we go to away games?”

Tobin groans. “I don’t know. She can stay with Kea or something if she’s around. We can figure it out when we get there.”

~~~

Alex sits in her hotel room with Riley and points at the screen. “You see mommy?” she asks the toddler. “She’s gonna do a big kick and score.”

Alex listens to him babble as Tobin sets herself up for a kick. She steps back and waits for the start of the play. Alex raises Riley’s arms as Tobin’s foot connects with the ball. Over a second later a turquoise jersey crashes into Tobin and Alex’s whole world freezes. She watches the screen as yellow flags start flying in slow motion and the whistles are blown. 

“That was definitely a late tackle on Heath. She’s still down but it looks like she’s moving which is a good sign.” They start showing a replay.

“That has to be a scary site for Houston fans. It was less than a year ago when she was carried off on a stretcher.” The medical staff is with Tobin now, not letting her get up. Alex’s hotel door flies open and a few of her teammates burst through. They don’t say anything as they climb onto the bed with her.

“It looks like she’s getting to her feet now.” Tobin stands up on her own. Alex lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and watches her wife. They cut to a replay and Alex looks down at Riley who is staring at Emily. Alex looks over and sees Emily is making funny faces. 

“How’d you guys know?” Alex asks.

“We had it on in the background. As soon as we heard her name and saw the hit we came over,” Lindsey explains.

Alex smiles and spreads her arms. “Thanks guys.” They all envelope her in a group hug then settle in to watch the last quarter of the game. Alex glances over at Emily who is texting back and forth with someone.

“That Kelley?” she asks.

Emily looks up, “What?”

“Who are you texting?”

“No one. My mom.”

Alex smirks. “So not Kelley?”

Lindsey laughs from behind them. “How’d you know?” she asks, setting her phone down.”

“Tobs and I noticed how you guys were last month.”

“Oh.”

“So how long has this been going on?” Alex questions, thankful for the carefree distraction.

“Uh, we’ve been talking since February but like became something in August.”

“And neither of you thought to tell me?”

Emily awkwardly smiles and shrugs. “You were stressing about Tobin and we weren’t sure what you guys would think.”

Alex shakes her head. “Why would we be anything but happy for you guys? I love you both.”

Emily shrugs again. “I don’t know. We just weren’t really sure.”

Alex looks at the television for a second then turns back. “Gimmie your phone.”

Emily looks at her confused but hands it over. Alex reaches back towards Lindsey. “Hold onto this.” She then picks up her own phone. She chews on her lip for a second then smirks and starts typing.

**Alex: I need to tell someone this and Tobs is busy…**

Kelley starts typing but Alex keeps going.

**Alex: You remember Emily, my teammate? The one that’s from Georgia**

Kelley responds immediately.

**Kel: Yes**

Alex grins then keeps going. “You can’t send that,” Emily protests, seeing what Alex is typing. Alex sends it anyways.

**Alex: I totally just walked in on her with some chick**

“It’s your own fault for not telling me.” The bubbles appear and disappear a few times.

**Kel: Are you sure it was her?**

**Alex: Who else would it be?**

Emily groans. “She’s going to kill me.”

**Kel: Who was she with?**

**Alex: I don’t know. I didn’t stick around**

**Kel: I gotta go. Thanks for telling me. I’ll talk to you later**

Alex starts to feel slightly bad when she hears a phone ring behind her. She turns and sees Kelley’s smiling face lighting up Emily’s phone screen. She passes her son to Emily and plucks the phone from Lindsey’s hand.

“Hello,” she answers pleasantly.

There’s a pause. “Alex?” Kelley sniffles.

“What’s up Kel? Thought you said you had to go.”

“I...I thought I called someone else. There must be something wrong with my phone.”

“You trying to call Emily?”

“What?”

“Were you trying to call your girlfriend?” Alex smirks.

The other side of the line remains silent except for a slight sniffle.

“Em didn’t cheat on you but maybe next time you get a girlfriend you’ll tell me, especially when I know her.”

“She...she didn’t?”

Alex switches to Facetime and a few seconds later she sees Kelley with red eyes staring back at her. She switches the camera mode and shows Emily on the bed with Riley in her arms. “She stole my phone,” Emily says. “I’m sorry.”

Kelley wipes her eyes. “I hate you so much, Alex.”

Alex flips the camera back. “Love you too babe.” She makes a kissey face towards Kelley. “I’ll give her the phone back so you guys can talk or whatever but we’re gonna have a serious talk later about you lying to my face about not dating anyone.”

Kelley nods. “I didn’t know if you would be cool with us and I didn’t want it to mess up your team bonding.”

“As long as she doesn’t actually cheat on you or hurt you,” Alex looks up and glares at Emily for a moment, “I would only make fun of you two.” Kelley nods and wipes her nose again. “Sorry Kel. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Kelley shakes her head. “Don’t do that again.”

“Promise.” Alex hands the phone back to Emily and pulls Riley from her lap.

“I’m so sorry babe,” Emily says as she crawls off the bed and walks out of the room. 

Alex relaxes back into the pillows and refocuses on the game. “That was harsh,” Lindsey states. Tossing a small, plush soccer ball between her hands.

Alex shrugs. “They both should have told me.”

*~~~*

Tobin walks through the door and is immediately greeted by Charina wrapping her arms around her waist and an out of breath “Mommy”. Tobin looks down confused and pats her back as the other two children run to her. She pulls back so she can bend down and hug all three of them. Charina holds onto Tobin’s hand and leads her into the kitchen where their nanny, Hailey, was cleaning up while the other two amble back to the couch. The clingy eight year old helps Tobin get a plate of preprepared food. Tobin raises an eyebrow and looks over her daughter’s head at the other adult. She holds up a finger and mouths ‘later’ before finishing cleaning up. 

Charina sits next to her and watches her eat the grilled chicken. “So what did you do today?” Tobin asks.

“Phi and I played soccer. She didn’t get any goals.”

“You like the gloves Ash and Ali got you?” Tobin asks while chewing.

“Did you guys do any swimming?”

“Derek did. He kept trying to splash us but we were too far away.”

“What did you have for lunch?”

Tobin keeps peppering the girl with questions about her day, school, and friends. Once Tobin’s done, Charina slides off the stool and takes Tobin’s plate to the dishwasher. Tobin glances at the time, realizing it’s past Derek’s bedtime. “Derek, time for pjs.”

“I can do it mommy,” Charina offers. 

“Oh, um okay. Thanks Char.” Tobin affectionately touches her daughter’s shoulder as she walks by and helps her little brother stand. She watches them walk up the stairs then turns around confused. Without having to ask, her question is answered

“She saw you get hit.” 

“She watched the game?”

Hailey nods, “She watched the last one too.” The woman’s face turns sad. “When you got tackled she stood up and was like a foot away from the screen. Then when the doctors came out she told Derek and Sophia to put their shoes on.”

Tobin combs her fingers through her hair. “She is one hundred percent Alex’s child. Derek and Soph are more me but she is Alex.”

“We did call Alex after the game to make sure you were okay even though you kept playing.”

Tobin goes in to hug the slightly older woman. “Thank you so much. I don’t know what we would do without you most days.”

The blonde hugs her back. “You guys would be fine. You have four beautiful and happy children.”

Tobin chews on her lip for a second, thinking about what her and Alex had been talking about recently and makes a decision.

“So Alex and I have a very limited window when we’re both in the off season. We didn’t get to do it this year cause of my injury so we’re doing it pretty big this time.”

Hailey nods, not sure why Tobin is telling her any of this.

“We’re taking a three week vacation to India. We’ll be moving around the country a bit and four kids aren’t the easiest to maneuver at home. A foreign country even less so”

“Uh huh,” Hailey nods again, still not quite sure where Tobin is going with this.

“Alex and I are gonna do a few clinics to help girls get into sports, so Char could probably help and maybe Sophia depending on her mood but the boys are too young.”

“I can definitely watch them but I wouldn’t be comfortable being the only one in charge of them for that long in case something happened. Even if it’s just one of your friends around here that’s on standby.”

Tobin shakes her head. “No all the kids are coming. Sorry I should have led with we want you to come with us. We’ll obviously pay for everything and you’ll have plenty of time to do things on your own if you want but we would require your services for some things like the travel and when we have to do the clinics.”

“India?”

Tobin smiles. “Yeah. We’re not making the playoffs this year so when Alex gets back from camp at the beginning of February we’ll pull the kids from school then be back before she has camp again.”

Hailey looks over Tobin’s shoulder, thinking about the offer in front of her.

“No need to answer right away. Think it over. We can talk about it tomorrow. We just need to know soon in case we need to find someone else.”

“I need to find my passport.”

Tobin laughs. “I’ll get you a new one if that’s the only thing stopping you.”

“Oh, I’m totally in.” She thinks for a few seconds. “Oh God,” she groans looking at Tobin with slight disgust.

“What?” Tobin asks with concern.

“Valentines Day with you two is going to be disgustingly coupley isn’t it?”

Tobin smirks. “If you were dating anyone I would have said they could come.”

“I only have two men in my life and they both require story time before their naps.”

“Well then what do you like, chocolate, flowers, stuffed animals? I’ll make sure they each get you something.”

Hailey shakes her head. “The trip is enough.” She grins. “Maybe I’ll find someone there.”

Charina runs down the stairs and slides into the kitchen on her socks. “He’s ready for a bedtime story Mommy.”

Tobin nods. “Hailey’s about to leave. What do you say?”

Charina hugs her and says a few things into her ear. Tobin raises an eyebrow but Hailey shakes her head so Tobin relaxes. “Soph, come say thank you and goodnight to Hailey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Upcoming chapters (if any) are gonna be more scene specific. And might skip a few years here and there.  
> Is there anything specific you guys want to see for their future?


	12. 2026

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is like a billion days after the last post but I did add to 2025 after posting. Each new section is denoted by *~~~*. Most of you have probably already read it but for those who read it within the first day or so go check it out. It's not important but I think the scenes are fun.

Alex walks with Derek to the elevator of their hotel. She is pulling two large suitcases and has a backpack on her back. Derek has on an oversized Texans backpack. He runs ahead to push the button, happy he doesn’t have to share the important duties with his siblings this trip. “Who do you want to see first?” Alex asks when she gets to him, already knowing the answer. 

“Em-lee,” he answers excitedly. Alex shakes her head at her son’s favorite player, including his parents. The doors open and they step in. Alex picks him up so he can press the button for their floor then sets him down.

They get to their room and Alex texts Emily before she starts unpacking their stuff for the week. She hands Derek her phone so he can call Tobin, busing himself and filling Tobin in on all of the non-events of their travel day to Virginia.

She listens to him babble about the movie he watched on the flight when there’s a knock on the door. She had it propped open and Alex turns to see Emily pushing the door open. Derek drops the phone mid sentence and runs towards her. “Emmy, Emmy, Emmy.”

Alex smiles when Emily picks him up and spins around. She walks over to where her phone lies on the ground and takes it off of speaker. She talks to Tobin for a minute before hanging up to talk to her teammate. 

An hour later, half of the team is lounging around Alex’s room. As much as she loved being with her family, Alex had just spent almost a month abroad with them and being with her teammates, who were also family but more self reliant, was a nice change. She is telling those in the room about the trip with Derek’s help as he recalls various things, most often not related to what Alex is saying. 

Derek has completely changed his outfit since they arrived at the hotel. Emily had brought him a Thorns’ jersey, shorts, socks, hat, and backpack. He was wearing everything except for the backpack. Alex had already sent a picture to Kelley, criticizing her girlfriend’s choices.

**Kel: She’s practically his godmother too**

**Alex: But she’s not. You are!**

**Kel: She’s like his godaunt or something. And he loves her more than me anyways**

**Alex: He loves her more than me. How do I explain that my son cheers for me to lose when I play her?**

**Kel: He can come sit with me and we’ll cheer on the better team together.**

**Alex: Are you gonna come to some games?**

**Kel: I try when they’re home on weekends but it’s not super easy. I’ve been saving up on sick and personal days so I can miss when needed.**

**Alex: Long distance sucks.**

**Alex: That was 2 long years**

**Kel: It fucking does. But phone sex makes it somewhat okay ;)**

~~~

Tobin is sitting in the office when the front door opens. “In here,” she calls. Alex walks into the room in spandex and a tight orange tank top.  Tobin smiles at Alex and sits back in her chair. “Didn’t shower?”

Alex shakes her head. “Nope.” She walks around the desk and looks down at the pile of papers in front of Tobin. “So what’s the deal here?”

“Three years, eleven mill, four guranteed, and five million signing bonus.”

Alex does the quick math. “That’s less than the one you’re on.”

Tobin nods. “Yeah. They threw in an incentive for next year but they said this was the most they could do cause they have to redo a bunch of big contracts.”

“So what does that mean?”

Tobin shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t really have another option unless I try to go somewhere else.”

Alex silently looks through the papers for a minute. She looks at the red marks that are on the paper that her wife’s management team had added. “Do you want to try going somewhere else?”

“Not really. I don’t want to be away from you and the kids.”

Alex holds up the paper she’s looking at. “Are you okay with this?”

“I mean it sucks that they think I’m not worth that extra mill they’re shorting me but with you and all our sponsorships we don’t really need it.”

“Yeah I guess.” Alex sets the page down and turns to lean back against the desk and looks down at Tobin. “Can you get a bigger signing bonus or take less money this year to get more at the end?”

“We’re working on some finagaling but it probably won’t get above twenty-five.”

“They’ll figure it out.”

“I know, I just hate having to deal with this.”

Alex grins and hops up on top of the desk. “What can I do to distract you?”

Tobin stands up and steps between Alex’s legs. “We haven’t done this in a while.”

“The kids can’t walk in on us.”

Tobin plays with the hem of Alex’s shirt then slowly pulls it up. Alex leans back onto her hands and Tobin’s fingers brush the skin over Alex’s shorts.

Alex hums and her eyes flutter closed. Tobin leans down and places her lips over Alex’s neck. Alex’s eyes shoot open when there’s a crash to her right. She looks over and sees two of their large binders on the floor. Alex grins and reaches up to hold Tobin’s face against her.

Tobin’s hands fall from Alex’s torso as she quickly pushes her shorts and underwear down and kicking them off. She then starts pulling on the drawer that is blocked by Alex’s legs. Alex shifts so she’s fully on the desk and watches Tobin pull out the harness for their strap on. 

Alex bites her lip and shifts uncontrollably while Tobin slides it on. “When did you put that in there?”

“Last week.” Tobin reaches back into the drawer for the clear toy and slides it into place while Alex watches with pure fascination. “You know I kinda expected you to at least partially undress yourself while I did this.”

“Oh.” Alex looks down at her clothes. 

Tobin grabs the tight material covering her wife’s hips. Alex lifts so that Tobin can pull the clothing down and off. Tobin moves to her knees and pulls Alex by her legs so she’s right on the edge of the desk. Tobin smirks up at Alex then sticks her tongue out and brushes it against Alex. Alex whines and tangles her hand through Tobin’s hair.

After a few minutes, Tobin stands up and wipes her chin with the back of her hand. Alex groans and tries to push Tobin back down to get her to finish. Tobin instead grabs Alex’s hand and places it on the toy protruding straight towards her. Alex can feel the lube Tobin must have put on while she was distracted by the footballer’s tongue. Alex pulls, bringing Tobin even closer until she positions Tobin right at her opening. Alex lays back, Tobin’s contract spread out on the desk below her. She moans when Tobin pushes into her then wraps her legs around Tobin’s waist loosely. 

“Fuck.”

“Yes ma’am,” Tobin replies in her best Southern accent. It’s a good thing Tobin had insisted on the sturdy desk many years ago when they furnished their house instead of the sleek glass desk Alex had wanted.

~~~

“You really think you’re gonna win this?” Tobin asks as she walks out onto the field in her Texans jersey. 

Alex nods next to her in her Dash jersey. “Definitely.”

They stop at the sideline for dramatic effect for the cameras then each hand over their sport’s ball. Tobin drops the soccer ball to the ground while Alex spins the football on the palm of her hand.

They walk to the end of the field for their first challenge, kicking the ball the furthest. Tobin wins easily with the football. It’s closer with the soccer ball but Tobin still kicks it ten yards further. 

Tobin smirks as she adds a second mark next to her name on their scoreboard. “Those were both made for you. Your job is to kick the ball as far as you can. I’m like never that far from goal when I’m shooting.”

Tobin shrugs. “Not my fault. I’m still winning.”

They move onto the crossbar challenge. Tobin gets it her first try with the football while Alex’s sails high over the bar. It takes Alex two tries with the soccer ball while Tobin’s both go over the net.

3-1

Alex shoves Tobin’s outstretched hand away. “It’s not over yet.”

Tobin rolls her eyes. “You can’t beat me babe.”

“The next ones are more fair.”

“How would you know?” Tobin asks, shoving her wife’s shoulder. “They said they were a surprise so we couldn’t practice.”

“My team is coming up with the challenges. I have an in.”

The man behind Alex, holding a camera, shakes his head at Tobin. Tobin smiles and gives a quick nod before putting her arm over Alex’s shoulder. “Okay babe.”

~~~

Tobin stands in front of the goal as Charina bounces on the line. She was nothing more than a moving dummy for her daughter who had on her large purple gloves. 

“The youngest player ever to join the national team now is charged with stopping what could be the game winning goal,” she narrates as she places her NWSL official ball down on the penalty spot. “At just nine years old, she is the best player I’ve ever seen. The ball is bigger than her head.”

“Mom, stop talking.”

Tobin laughs but does as told. Charina waves her arms around as she has seen other goalkeepers do but keeps her eyes focused on Tobin. Tobin glances to the left corner before down at the ball and running in. Charina takes a small step to her right and the ball comes towards her quickly. She dives down for it, collapsing on top of it before it can pass the goal line. 

Tobin falls to her knees and puts her hands over her face in anguish. Charina on the other hand runs around with her arms straight out. If someone else was ‘on her team’ she would have jumped into their arms.

Tobin sits up. “One more, then we gotta go find everyone.”

“Nooo. Mama said she would come play with me.”

Tobin thinks of the horrible game her wife just played, ending in a loss. “Maybe later Char. She’s not too happy right now and I think she just wants to go home and watch a movie. You can choose what we order for dinner.”

~~~

Tobin sits, posed with a perfect shot of her backyard through the sliding glass windows and hints of the family room on the side. A microphone is soon clipped into shirt and final make-up touches. The kids were all at practice with Alex so she could do this interview in peace.

They go through a few basic questions, ones she’s answered more times than she can count, for lead up before getting into the meat of the interview, the first she had allowed on the topic specifically. 

“When did you know you were gay?”

Tobin thinks for a second. “I don’t think there’s like a singular event. I was always kinda different in a way where if I was chasing a guy it was cause we were playing soccer or something. Sometime in middle school was when it all clicked together because I saw it in a movie or something. One of the side characters was dating a woman and I realized I could do that too. So I guess the answer is middle school but I’m sure if I had been growing up today with it being more popular in the media it could have been earlier.”

“Speaking of the media and how the queer community has become more visible, do you find yourself to be a lesbian icon?”

Tobin laughs and shakes her head. “I don’t but I know other people think of me in that way. I just play football. It’s what I love. My personal life doesn’t come into that at all, but I also don’t hide it. I’m not ashamed of my identity, my wife, or my family. I have four beautiful kids.”

“So do you not think you’ve had an impact on the NFL?”

“Oh no I know I have. I mean I’m a woman playing what most still call a men’s game. I’ve been able to talk to some other athletes from various sports and I don’t know if what I said helped them come out but I feel it had an impact.”

“In the NFL, there are two other active and out players, if there are more in the NFL why are they staying closeted and do you have anything to say to them.”

Tobin lets out a slow breath. “That’s a long answer.” She takes another moment to gather her thoughts. “Okay. I’m sure there are more out there. Percentage wise I don’t see how there can only be three out of whatever 32 times 53 is and that’s not counting coaches and practice squads. If they don’t want to come out they don’t have to. It’s very possible they are out to who matters to them whether that be family, friends, or teammates. It still isn’t as easy as it should be but there’s a stigma. I have it easier, I know that and I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I wish it was as easy for everyone. 

“This is a career where one tiny thing can make you lose it. Jordan and Maurice are both on the top of their games and had great years last year but if they had one slip up that could be it for them while for a straight person it would just be shake it off, do better. A lot could be blamed on them being gay or bi. Locker room dynamics are not changing because they’re interested in guys. They are professional football players, they can separate their lives from on the field.”

They go through more questions, as Tobin is answering who the stricter parent is the front door opens and three rowdy kids come running through, almost knocking over a light stand. “Guys slow down,” Tobin calls as they run upstairs to change into their bathing suits. “Sorry about that,” Tobin says as she stands to give Alex, holding a sleeping Riley, a quick kiss.

The crew moves everything outside to the shaded patio and sets Alex up to a microphone. The three older kids are playing in the pool and Riley naps against Tobin’s chest.

They ask a few more questions which get sporadically interrupted as the two adults take turns reminding their children to play nice, put sunscreen on, drink water, or be a little less loud.

Once the cameras are all packed up the producer quickly reminds the two that the interview will air around the start of preseason camps towards the end of pride month.

~~~

Tobin checks her phone as she sits in the locker room. The Dash are up 1-0. Tobin quickly texts Alex’s mom to check in on all of the kids. She luckily gets a response quickly before she has to head back out. 

When the game ends, two of the Texans’ social media people come over, one holding out her own phone for Tobin to see, the other recording. Tobin takes it and looks at the screen which shows a social media post from the Dash.

“ _2026 NWSL Champions_ ”

Tobin looks up, “Really?”

The two nod as Tobin looks through the large quantity of pictures the Dash had posted throughout the day. There’s a few pictures of Alex on the field and one of her entering the stadium pregame. She’s wearing Tobin’s jersey in the oldest picture which makes her smile. 

She heads to the locker room to shower and change then she calls Alex. She can hear the cheering in the background. She makes the phone call quick so Alex can celebrate. 

When Alex gets home the next day, after putting the kids to bed, Tobin shows her just how proud she is. They start in the shower but move to the bath and finally the bed. Long gone were the days where they could easily move out of their bedroom with all the children home but they didn’t let that stop them from being close.

~~~

Alex bounces Riley on her lap. Her eyes track Tobin who is jogging onto the field to punt the ball after the Texans punter had been injured on a previous play. She holds her son tightly while she waits for the play to start. She’s not sure how long it takes for the ball to be snapped but it feels like an hour. 

She holds her breath as everyone gets lined up. She doesn’t hear the screaming fans when the ball is snapped. The ball flies right into Tobin’s hands and after a step Tobin sends the ball far down field without getting touched. The Titan’s player catches the ball and starts running. Alex watches Tobin move towards him. A light blue jersey comes at her and tackles her to the ground. Alex’s breath catches in her throat. She waits a painstakingly long time for the thousand pound man to climb off of her wife. 

The whistles on the field blow as the play ends. Tobin is still on her back and Alex stands up, gripping Riley. The Titans player holds out his hand which Tobin takes and lets herself be pulled up. They talk for a moment and Tobin pats his stomach before walking off the field.

Alex lets the breath out slowly and sits down. “Mommy’s okay,” she says into Riley’s ear. Her eyes are wet and she doesn’t even care about the cameras she knows are on her. “Mommy’s okay.” She kisses the squirmy toddler’s cheek. 

After the game Alex holds Tobin for longer than usual. “The punt?” 

“Yeah.” 

“That was Duncan. He went to UNC too. Not sure if you remember him. He was a year below you.”

“That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have crushed you. I’m going to worry about you regardless of who is the one tackling you.”

“I’m okay my love. I’m not hurt.”

“I know.” Alex pulls away to look at the kids who are all in front of the television. “But I’m gonna wanna check tonight to make sure.”

“Okay.” Tobin presses a kiss to Alex’s lips. “After we put the kids to bed, meet me in the theater. You can check every inch of my body.” She walks away to the couch and collapses down onto it. Alex shakes her head and goes back to working on her computer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first...this was kinda a filler but drama is about to  
> Okay so I need some info for the future...  
> 1\. I need the name for an LA NWSL team so hit me up with some names. It can be related to the MLS teams or not. I don't care either way.  
> 2\. Where does the 2028 Olympics happen?  
> 3a. Should they have another kid?  
> 3b. If yes...how old, boy/girl, any other info  
> 4\. What sports do the kids like?  
> 5\. Funny interaction between Kelley and Tobin you want to see.  
> 6\. Anything else...


End file.
